o''.  IZ/OZ. 


Srom  t^e  £i6rati?  of 

f^e  feifirar^  of 
(jpttnceton  C^eofogtcaf  ^emiMtg 


BV  812  .A19  1847 

Adams,  William,  1813-1897 

Mercy  to  babes 


)     l 


Mtxt^   to    Sabea: 

A    PLEA 

FOR  THE 

CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM  OF  INFANTS, 

ADDRESSED 
TO  THOSE  WHO  DOUBT  AND  THOSE  WHO  DENY 

THE  VALIDITY  OF  THAT  PRACTICE, 

UPON    THE    GROUNDS  OF   THE    DOCTRINE   OF   BAPTISM, 

AND  THE  ETERNAL  SENSE  OF  HOLY  WRIT, 

AND  OF  THE  DOMESTIC,  SOCIAL,  AND 

RELIGIOUS  NATURE  OF  MAN. 


BY  WILLIAM  ADAMS,  S.  T.  P. 

PRESBYTER  OF  THE   PROTESTAXT  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH    IK   THE 
DIOCESE  OF  V/ISCO.N'SIN, 


Mercy  is  twice  blessed. 

It  blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes." 


NEW- YORK: 
STANFORD    AND    SWORDS, 

139,  BROADWAY. 

1847. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1847,  by 

WILLIAM  ADAMS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District 

of  New-York. 


PRINTED  BY  JOHN  R.  M  GOWN, 
CVl.  FULTON-STRT. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 


To  those  who  may  read  this  treatise  upon  the  subject  of 
infant  baptism,  the  author  wishes  to  submit  some  preliminary 
considerations  as  regards  both  Iiis  own  position  and  the 
mode  in  which  he  wishes  to  approach  the  subject. 

And  the  first  and  most  important  is  this  :  he  comes  not  to 
the  subject  as  a  controversialist.     He  lias  the  strongest  con- 
victions  of  the  evil  of  that,  which  in  the  present  day  is 
called    "  controversy."     He    sees  that   in   the  majority  of 
cases  it  is  not  a  discussion  of  the  truth,  to  be  perused  and 
weighed  by  the  layman  of  either  side,  but  a  personal  conflict 
between  two  minds  for  victory,  regarded  by  themselves  and 
by  their  respective  partizans  solely  in  the  light  of  champions 
of  party  and  intellectual  gladiators.     In  the  usual  course  of 
such  combats,   the   writer   has   seen  many  evils.     Strong 
assertions  of  fact  where  such  facts  do  not  exist ;  innocently 
made,  because  taken  upon  the  authority  or  argumentation 
of  standard  writers  of  the  sect,  and  yet  untrue  and  doing  all 
the  work  of  falsehood.     Persevering  imputations  of  conse- 
quences,  which  logically  should  foilov/,   and  yet   do  not, 
because  cur  nature,  originally  formed  of  God,  does  and  will 
in  practice  correct,  to  some  degree,  the  natural  and  logical 
effects  of  the  worst  doctrines.     Personal  imputations  then  of 


iv  PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

evil  motives,  and  venemous  assaults  upon  character  and  repu- 
tation ;  and,  worst  of  all,  the  little  paltry  literary  manoeuver- 
ing  th?.t  attends  upon  all  such  combats,  the  small  logic  and 
smaller  v/it,  the  flippancy  and  personal  snubbing  which 
nowadays  seem  inevitable  to  such  argumentation,  and 
because  of  v/hich,  at  the  present  day,  the  grave,  the  sober, 
the  earnest,  and  the  high  minded,  detest  the  very  name  of 
controversy  justly  and  with  sufficient  cause. 

These  evils,  some  of  them  unavoidable  in  "  controversy," 
at  all  times,  and  some  the  peculiar  products  of  our  own 
age,  might  be  borne  with,  if  controversy  were  of  any 
probable  service.  But  when  we  look  at  the  state  of  Chris- 
tianity in  our  days,  sect-divided  into  a  multitude  of  jarring 
fragments,  because  of  this  fact,  the  natural  consequences  of 
controversy  seem  to  attend  upon  it  in  their  worst  form,  and 
secondly,  it  seems  wholly  useless.  For  the  men  most  likely 
to  enter  into  controversy  and  carry  it  on  with  ability,  the 
clergy  of  the  various  denominations,  are  bound  and  pledged 
to  their  several  opinions,  be  they  true  or  false,  by  ties 
which  would  require  a  great  deal  more  than  the  argumen- 
tation of  one  antagonist  mind  to  break  the  slightest  of  them. 
The  clergyman  who  has  inclination  and  abilities  to  defend 
his  opinions,  which  are  the  opinions  of  his  sect,  is  bound  to 
them  by  affections,  by  his  friendships,  by  his  interests  :  all 
these  things,  vv^hich  must  have  their  weight,  tie  him  down, 
and  attach  him  in  weightiest  degree  to  that  opinion  he  de- 
fends.    These  things  must  have  their  weight  with  all. 

Moreover,  the  very  subject  of  debate,  in  his  opinion, 
is  connected  with  the  highest  and  holiest  purposes,  even 
with  the  salvation  of  the  world ;  and  the  fact  that  he  sustains 


PRELIMIMAKY  REMARKS.  V 

it  against  a  multitude  of  opponents,  makes  him  almost 
unchangeable.  Furthermore,  when  he  has  once  entered 
into  the  field,  if  he  has  any  appearance  of  success,  right  or 
wrong,  he  gets  the  applause  of  his  denomination ;  he  is  a 
champion,  so  esteemed  and  so  rewarded  ;  however  good  and 
pious  a  man  he  may  therefore  be,  vanity  must  come  in, 
self-esteem  and  pride.  The  angry  passions  then  are  roused 
by  the  reply ;  and  so  the  truth  is  forgotten,  the  man's  own 
position  is  to  be  maintained,  and  that  at  all  risks,  and  the 
strife  goes  on  in  this  style  till  the  sense  of  decency  in  the 
public  permits  them  no  longer  to  peruse  abuse  and  violence 
couched  in  polished  and  courtly  language.  Who  ever  heard 
in  this  day  of  a  controversy  decided,  or  a  controversialist 
converted  by  his  opponent  ? 

Again,  if  we  look  at  it  in  another  point  of  view,  we  shall 
see  the  inutility  of  controversy  more  plainly  still.  Contro- 
versy is  a  discussion.  It  is  just  the  same  as  the  pleading  of 
a  cause,  save  that  the  arguments  are  in  wiiting.  It  therefore 
presupposes  a  judge  having  authority  to  decide.  Where  in 
the  present  state  of  Christianity  is  the  judge  1  Between  a 
Churchman  and  a  Baptist,  a  Romanist  and  a  Methodist, 
entering  into  controversy,  where  is  the  judge  ?  Does  any 
one  suppose  that  because  the  Baptist,  or  Romanist,  or  Me- 
thodist champion,  is  vanquished  by  his  opponents,  that  their 
very  respectable  denominations  will  turn  round  and  deter- 
mine that  their  peculiar  distinguishing  doctrines  for  which 
he  combated,  are  unscriptural  and  untrue  ?  Surely  not ;  they 
will  do  no  such  thing.  It  would  be  the  height  of  folly  to 
expect  it.  They  may  by  a  great  stretch  of  candor  allow 
their  champion  to  have  been  defeated,  but  it  is  the  champion 


VI  PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

personally,  and  not  his  cause.  If  there  were  a  judge  having 
authority,  instead  of  antagonist  sects  merely,  as  is  the  case 
in  controversies  carried  on  between  members  of  the  same 
denomination,  it  would  be  otherwise ;  then  the  matter  in 
dispute  would  be  the  matter  decided  upon,  not  the  personal 
merits  of  the  pleaders.  If  Christianity  were  one,  controversy, 
as  such,  would  be  useful,  whatsoever  temptations  there 
might  be  to  the  controversialist  to  fall  into  the  faults  aboA^e 
mentioned ;  inasmuch  as  principles  once  settled  would 
henceforth  be  no  longer  mooted  points,  but  be  acted  upon 
as  principles  of  life.  Now  sect-rent  as  it  is,  there  can  be  no 
decision  between  opposing  sects,  because  there  can  be  no 
judge. 

But  some  one  will  say.  Public  Opinion  is  the  judge.  In 
matters  of  political  concern  it  may  be.  For  then  there  is 
an  ultimate  court  of  appeal,  and  an  ultimate  authority  to 
decide  and  settle  disputes,  and  men  must  bow  to  its  decisions. 
But  religion  in  this  country  is  by  the  law  of  the  land  a 
matter  between  a  man  and  his  conscience.  My  neighbor, 
therefore,  by  the  law  of  the  land  is  no  judge  of  my  religious 
opinions  ;  has  no  authority  at  all ;  I  may  hold  any  opinions 
I  please,  on  any  motives  I  please,  and  with  any  realization  of 
them  in  practice  I  please,  provided  they  are  not  opposed  to 
the  morality  of  common  law ;  that  is,  provided  they  are 
neither  a  "  nuisance  "  or  an  "  injury  "  to  my  neighbor.  He 
has  therefore  no  authority  to  decide  upon  them,  whether 
right  or  wrong,  within  these  limits  ;  and  all  respectable  sects 
keep  within  these.  No  arithmetic  therefore  can  give  to  my 
neighbor  collectively,  that  is,  the  Public,  the  right  which  the 
one  individual  does  not  possess  legally.     My  neighbor  may 


FRELIMINARY  REMARKS.  Vll 

think  my  opinions  or  my  practice  upon  these  opinions  very 
silly  or  very  pernicious,  but  except  he  can  prove  an  actual 
injury  done  to  himself,  his  business  is  to  let  me  alone  ;  and 
the  same  is  the  case  with  ten  or  ten  millions. 

But  besides  this,  the  constitutional  and  common  law  view 
of  the  case,  does  any  one  in  his  senses  suppose  that  I  or  any 
other  sincere  Christian  will  be  willing  and  content  to  trust 
the  authoritative  decision  of  the  dearest  and  most  vital  points 
of  Christian  truth — points  to  us  of  such  importance  that  our 
estimation  of  their  value  prevents  Christians  from  being 
united  in  one  body — to  the  opinion  of  a  mass  of  men,  full  one 
half  of  whom  have  no  interest  in  Christ  our  Lord,  whether 
by  baptism,  profession,  or  any  thing  else,  and  the  remainder, 
save  our  own  denomination,  are  pledged  against  us  by  all 
the  ties  of  sect? 

No;  controversialists  may  well  be  pleased  when  the 
"  public  "  applauded,  for  they  know  then  that  so  much  of  an 
impression  is  made  upon  the  mass  in  favor  of  the  opinions 
they  seek  to  maintain.  They  may  therefore,  by  a  kind  of 
innocent  hypocrisy  or  unconscious  deceit,  make  the  public 
the  judge.  But  in  sincerity  and  truth,  the  absurdity  of  taking 
such  a  body  as  a  i-eal  judge  of  controversy,  is  one  which  no 
man  and  no  denomination  in  its  senses,  at  the  present  day, 
can  be  guilty  of. 

I  for  one  shall  be  guilty  of  no  such  hypocritical  conduct. 
I  appeal  not  to  the  public.  I  bow  not  to  its  decisions.  I 
belong  to  that  body  whose  business  it  is  to  correct  and 
conquer  public  opinion,  and  vanquish  majorities — the  king- 
dom  of  heaven — ^the  one  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  of 
God — the  little  leaven  that  leaveneth  the  whole  lump. 


-fjfi  FHELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

The  Bible  then  is  the  judge,  of  course ;  the  fountain  of 
our  faith.  All  Protestant  denominations  agree  in  this. 
Personally  the  author  gives  the  fullest  consent  to  this  truth, 
and  cannot  better  express  his  opinion  than  in  the  words  of 
one  of  those  articles  which,  in  these  days,  some  belonging 
to  our  communion  in  England,  have  most  dishonestly  tried 
to  misinterpret !  Holy  Scripture  contains  all  things  neces- 
sary to  salvation,  so  that  whatsoever  is  not  read  therein,  or 
may  be  proved  thereby,  is  not  to  be  required  of  any  man 
that  it  should  be  believed  as  an  article  of  the  Faith,  or  be 
counted  requisite  or  necessary  to  Salvation.  Art.  6.  This 
is  the  opinion  of  our  Church  as  to  the  Bible. 

Still  in  the  opinions  formed  upon  matters  of  faith  from 
the  Bible  by  any  man  or  body  of  men,  there  are  two  things 
which  go  to  make  it  up,  the  infallible  word  of  God,  and  the 
fallible  mind  of  the  individual.  Public  opinion,  therefore, 
upon  the  Bible,  this  I  do  not  count  authoritative;  this  I 
will  not  submit  to.  Nor  do  I  imagine  that  a  Baptist  or  a 
Pilethodist  v/ilj  much  disagree  with  me  in  this  decision. 

These  then  being  my  opinions  as  to  controversy,  I  come 
not  before  the  readers  of  this  book  as  a  controversialist 
assailing  others  or  defending.  And  I  hope  that  he  who 
reads  this  book  will  find  that  throughout  it,  I  shall  act  up  to 
the  determination  here  laid  dov>^n.  For  with  God's  grace 
no  one  shall  find  here  any  of  the  jangling,  the  bitterness,  or 
the  malignity  of  controversy.  If  the  book  shall  be  assailed, 
I  shall  make  no  reply ;  only  this  I  shall  do,  read  the  work  of 
my  opponent  as  careiliUy  and  as  candidly  as  I  can.  And  as 
no  man  is  infallible,  if  errors  in  fact  or  in  reasoning  are 
detected,  I  shall  correct  them  if  the  book  goes  on  to  another 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS.  IX 

edition.  For  with  controversy,  properly  so  called,  I  would 
have  nothing  to  do  ;  of  its  evils  I  have  the  fullest  sense  ;  of 
its  uselessness  at  the  present  day  I  am  convinced  in  the 
jfullest  manner ;  and  I  do  conceive  that  truth  ever  must  be 
victorious  ;  and  with  truth  upon  my  side  I  am  content  to  go 
on  quietly,  believing  that  neither  my  reputation,  nor  the 
cause  I  support,  will  perish  even  if  I  make  no  reply  to  the 
rejoinders  of  a  hundred  exulting  antagonists. 

I  am  the  further  established  in  this  opinion  by  another 
consideration,  which  I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  submitting. 
One  of  my  strongest  objections  to  controversy  has  been  its 
negative  and  combative  character.  It  assails  and  refutes 
error,  while  itself  may  be  in  the  wrong,  upon  the  very  point 
in  debate.  For  truth  is  but  one,  error  is  manifold.  If  a  man 
establishes  one  truth,  he  destroys  a  thousand  errors  in  as 
many  different  directions.  Let  him  only  assail  error,  he 
may  be  just  as  far  wrong  himself. 

I  have,  therefore,  no  sympathy  for  the  assaults  of  such 
men  as  Voltaire  upon  superstition.  1  care  nothing  and 
give  nothing  for  them.  This  principle  I  have  acted  upon 
in  my  ministerial  life.  I  have  sought  to  establish  truth, 
and  never  assailed  error  save  in  this  way.  I  have  ever 
preached  what  I  considered  the  truth,  and  left  it  to  combat 
the  error  ;  and  thereby  I  have  found  great  advantage  ;  for  all 
men  that  are  sincere  in  these  days  are  seeking  for  the 
truth ;  and  truth  so  declared  comes  without  offence,  and  must 
ultimately  be  successful.  The  same  course  I  shall  pursue 
in  this  book. 

Many  persons  may  think  that  the  course  which  I  have 
thus  marked  out  for  myself  to  pursue  is  a  very  strange  and 
1* 


X  PRELIMINARY  REMARKS. 

impracticable  one  ;  nor  will  this  opinion  be  diminished  when 
they  consider  that  the  subject  of  it,  the  baptism  of  infants,  is 
one  of  those  subjects  the  most  controverted  at  the  present 
day.  Yet,  perhaps,  a  statement  of  my  own  personal  position 
will  in  some  degree  explain  this  to  them. 

The  author  is  a  priest  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
and  this  from  a  free  and  deliberate  choice,  because  he 
believes  her  organization  to  be  of  divine  origin,  and  her 
doctrines,  her  form  of  worship,  her  tone  of  religious  feeling, 
the  most  in  accordance  with  the  bible  and  the  Church 
in  the  purest  ages.  This  conviction,  taken  up  as  he  be- 
lieves, sincerely  and  upon  due  examination,  has  not  de- 
creased in  strength,  but  all  reading  and  all  examination  has 
tended  to  strengthen  it,  as  well  as  all  experience,  and  all 
emotions  and  feelings.  He  is  therefore  willing  to  abide  by 
her  standards  taken  in  the  plain  literal  sense,  and  to  take 
them  as  his  standards  of  religious  truth.  The  reader  there- 
fore knows  where  to  find  him.  The  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  is  in  the  hands  of  tens  of  thousands.  These  are  the 
writer's  doctrines,  these  his  opinions,  and  from  them,  taken 
in  the  plain  literal  sense,  he  does  not  shrink.  A  position  at 
once  free  and  bound ;  freely  taken  and  freely  maintained, 
and  yet  to  which  he  is  bound.  Such  a  thing  there  is,  hoM'- 
soever  the  present  lovers  of  unrestrained  liberty  may  deny 
it ;  for  armor  of  iron  and  steel  upon  the  unwilling  is  shackles 
and  manacles,  while  to  the  willing  wearer  it  is  protection 
and  defence. 

Now  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  there  are  no  less 
than  two  offices  for  the  baptism  of  infants,  the  author  there- 
fore is  committed  as  a  Psedobaptist — ^bound  to  it.     In  fact, 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS.  xi 

go  clear  is  the  doctrine,  and  practice,  and  feeling  of  Church- 
men upon  this  point,  that  it  would  be  as  great  an  absurdity 
to  imagine  a  regular  Baptist  minister  who  should  preach 
and  practice  infant  baptism,  as  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
who  should  oppose,  or  deny,  or  even  doubt  the  truth  and 
scripturalness  of  infant  baptism.  Other  denominations  may 
waver,  but  of  the  position  of  these  two  there  is  no  doubt. 
Every  one  that  hears  that  such  and  such  a  man  is  a  Baptist, 
knows  at  once  that  he  is  a  person  who  rejects  or  denies 
"  infant  baptism."  Every  one  too  that  hears  the  words 
"  Episcopalian,"  or  "  Churchman,"  at  once  understands  by 
them  a  person  who  is  just  as  firmly  decided  an  advocate  of 
the  baptism  of  babes. 

And  for  myself,  as  a  clergyman,  I  can  declare  that  in 
rio  other  office  of  my  ministry  do  I  take  so  much  delight  as 
in  the  dedication  of  the  unconscious  infant  to  "  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit."  In  none  else  do  I  feel  my 
faith  in  the  almighty  power  of  the  Almighty  Father,  in  the 
atonement  made  for  all  by  his  eternal  Son,  and  in  the 
sanctifying  and  ail-searching  influences  of  the  eternal  Spirit, 
shine  out  so  bright  and  clear.  Such  an  office  has  always 
seemed  to  me  to  be  one  peculiarly  blessed,  as  one  of  pure 
faith  altogether  removed  from  sight,  in  which  I  can  trust  in 
him,  the  Almighty,  that  he  will,  in  despite  of  my  dim- 
sightedness,  do  his  own  work,  which  he  has  granted  me  the 
grace  to  begin. 

My  position  then,  both  by  situation  and  feelings,  is  not 
that  of  a  controversialist  or  mere  arguer.  It  is  the  position 
of  one  who  has  the  truth  and  will  not  abandon  it,  and  can- 
not.    Men  may  say,  "  Then  are  you  infallible  !  "     Sneers 


Xii  PRELIMINARY  KEilARJCS. 

are  wliat  the  consistent  supporters  of  tmth  always  have  to 
encounter  ;  and  no  one  can  reply  to  a  sneer.  Yet  upon  this 
subject  there  is  such  a  thing  as  truth ;  and  he  that  has  the 
truth  is  more  than  infallible — -he  is  free.  And  when  I 
calmly  say,  that  upon  this  point  I  have  the  truth  most  cer- 
tainly, I  no  more  say  that  I  am  infallible,  than  I  do  when 
I  say  that  I  see  the  light  of  the  sun.  The  truth  is  in 
the  bible,  and  I  see  it  there,  just  as  I  see  the  light  in  the 
sun.  Again,  I  see  the  truth  then  by  "the  Church,"  "the 
pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth."  Just  as  I  see  the  light  by  the 
sense  which  God  in  his  wisdom  has  given  me,  so  do  I  see 
the  truth  doctrinally  and  practically  by  the  Church,  the 
interpreter  and  guardian  of  holy  writ. 

Men  of  course  will  deny  this,  and  sneer  at  it;  this  I 
cannot  help— I  cannot  move  off  the  ground  I  occupy,  or 
combat  them  on  this  point.  It  is  one  of  my  positions,  one 
which  they  must  take  as  an  additional  reason  for  my  declining 
controversy. 

The  author,  therefore,  of  these  papers,  holding  upon  the 
subject  of  infant  baptism  clear  and  determinate  views  in  its 
favor — holding  them  also  as  a  vital  doctrine  of  Christianity, 
and  in  such  a  way  that  he  cannot  give  them  up  and  will  ?iot, 
comes  forward  not  as  a  controversialist  to  attack  others,  or 
to  enter  into  discussion  with  any  champion  of  the  opposite 
views.  This  is  not  his  object — his  purpose  is  far  different. 
He  wishes  to  lay  clearly  and  plainly  before  those  who  doubt 
or  deny  infant  baptism,  the  grounds  for  his  own  belief  that 
are  to  be  found  in  the  scripture.  To  lay  it  before  thej7i  as 
persons  that  have  a  real  and  vital  interest  in  it  as  professing 
Christians,  as  persons  too  that  have  the  bible  in-their  hands, 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS.  XI 11 

and  are  bound  'to  search  for  the  truth  there.  The  author's 
undertaking,  therefore,  is  to  declare  the  doctrine  held  by  the 
Church,  and  himself  as  a  minister  of  the  Church,  upon  the 
points ;  to  take  the  bible  then,  and  show  clearly  and  mani- 
festly, that  it  contains  the  same  doctrine,  and  authorizes  the 
same  practice.  And  he  implores  of  those  into  whose  hands 
this  book  may  come,  that  they  read  it  fairly  and  candidly — - 
that  they  put  aside  prejudices ;  and,  above  all,  he  desires 
that  they  would  take  the  scriptures  as  they  read,  in  the  plain 
and  manifest  sense,  avoiding  as  much  as  may  be,  the  error 
of  the  old  Pharisees,  who  made  it  of  no  effect,  teaching  for 
doctrine  the  commandments  of  men,  and  made  the  scriptures 
vain  through  their  tradition.  And  he  implores  of  the  Al- 
mighty God,  whom  he  serves,  that  this  small  book  may  be 
made  efficient  both  to  do  away  prejudice,  to  soften  the  strife 
of  sect,  and  to  unite  Christians  once  more  in  their  old  pro- 
fession of  one  God,  one  faith,  one  baptism. 


CHAPTER   1 


PART   I. 


The  state  of  the  Question — the  importance  of  it — arising  from    the 
Ultra  notion  of  Infant  Baptism  or  Adult  Baptism. 

Having-  thus  stated  the  grounds  upon  which  I 
approach  the  subject,  and  that  in  such  a  manner 
that  I  feel  full  confidence  that  every  lover  of  the 
truth  who  is  in  pursuit  of  it,  and  at  the  same  time 
is  a  lover  of  peace,  must  be  satisfied  with  them, 
I  shall  proceed  to  enter  upon  the  subject ;  and  let 
every  reader  bear  in  mind,  that  I  come  not  as  a 
controversialist  with  argument  and  debate,  to  con- 
tend for  victory  with  the  champions  of  adult  bap- 
tism, and  upon  the  issue  of  such  a  conflict  to  place 
the  result,  to  say  to  the  individual.  You  see  I  have 
brought  forward  arguments  to  which  your  advocates 
cannot  reply,  and  because  of  this  victory  I  demand 
your  submission  to  the  standard  I  uphold,  and  the 
opinions  I  support.  This  is  the  position  of  a  con- 
troversialist— it  is  not  mine. 

I  come  not  as  a  controversialist,  but  as  a  teacher; 
as  one  that  has  the  truth,  whose  privilege  and  whose 
duty  it  is  to  teach  it.    With  this  I  come  to  the  private 


16  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

and  individual  Christian  who  has  the  Bible  in  his 
hands,  and  professes  to  be  guided  by  it ;  to  every 
one  that  has  an  interest  in  the  subject,  as  father  or 
mother,  as  brother  or  sister,  to  every  one  that  has 
an  interest  in  innocent  and  inoffensive  babes,  I 
come  to  that  individual  as  a  teacher  of  the  truth, 
with  the  bible  in  my  hand,  bringing  to  them  as 
my  introduction  and  support,  the  testimony  of 
nineteenth-twentieths  of  Christians  at  the  present 
day,  and  forty-five  generations  of  Christians  dead 
and  gone  to  their  rest,  that  the  baptism  of  infants 
is  scriptural ;  that  it  is  according  to  the  letter,  and 
the  tenor,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  that  babes 
should  be  baptized. 

I  come,  therefore,  backed  by  this  testimony,  as 
one  man  to  his  brother,  saying,  that  infant  baptism 
is  according  to  the  letter,  and  the  tenor,  and  the 
spirit  of  the  scripture,  and  upon  this  I  ask  a  hearing 
of  all  those  who  profess  to  take  the  scriptures  as 
their  guide  in  doctrine,  as  most  of  those  do  who 
doubt  or  deny  the  doctrine  of  infant  baptism.  They 
cannot  refuse  me  this.  No  cunning  sophism  shall 
they  find  here ;  no  arguments  for  victory  ;  no  recur- 
rence to  matters  of  history  or  of  antiquity  upon 
which,  because  they  lie  out  of  the  tracts  of  ordinary 
reading,  the  private  and  unlearned  Christian  may, 
because  of  his  simplemindness  and  confiding  faith, 
be  deceived  by  misrepresentation.  The  bible  shall 
be  the  ground  of  our  argument ;  chapter  and  verse 
shall  be  always  given.  Let  the  reader  peruse  this 
book  with  the  bible  in  his  hand. 

I  should,   however,    at  the  outset,    wish  him 


MERCY  TO  BABES. 


li 


clearly  to  comprehend  the  object  of  this  book,  dis- 
tinctly to  understand  that  particular  point  which 
I  advocate.  The  Baptist  at  the  very  outset  con- 
siders it  a  wrong  and  an  injury  done  to  his  cause, 
to  be  called  an  advocate  of  adult  baptism  ;  because, 
says  he,  though  in  many  cases,  nay,  the  majority 
of  cases,  the  persons  whom  we  baptize  are  "  adults" 
as  a  matter  of  fact;  still  it  is  not  as  *'  adults  "  we 
baptize  them,  not  by  any  means  with  respect  to 
age  ;  to  say  we  are  advocates  of  adult  baptism 
therefore,  says  he,  is  to  do  us  an  injury.  Very  well. 
If  this  be  fair  I  make  the  same  demand  of  my 
readers  in  all  fairness  and  honesty.  The  tenet  I 
advocate  is  called  "  Infant  Baptism."  "  Infancy," 
we  count  no  qualification  for  baptism,  nor  is  it 
because  they  are  "  infants"  or  *'  babes,"  that  we 
advocate  the  baptism  of  such  individuals ;  it  is 
because  we  count  them  suitable,  according  to  the 
scriptures.  Our  ground  is  this:  we  protest  against 
the  mere  circumstance  of  infancy,  which  involves 
no  sin,  being  made  a  disqualification  for  baptism, 
and  a  limitation  of  the  covenant. 

Of  old  there  was  a  dispute  as  to  whether  Christ 
died  for  all  or  only  for  the  elect.  The  doctrines 
certain  persons  had  taken  up,  rendered  it  very 
necessary  for  them  to  assert  that  Christ  had  made 
atonement  only  for  some  few.  This  was  a  limita- 
tion of  the  atonement  established  by  the  tradition 
or  doctrine  of  man  against  the  plain  words  of  holy 
scripture.  Men  who  had  more  confidence  in  the 
word  of  God  than  in  these  so  called  "  doctrines," 
protested  against  such  a  limitation ;  they  protested 


18  MERCY   TO  BABES. 

too  in  the  face  of  a  majority,  for  they  knew  that 
truth  was  on  their  side,  and  will  make  room  for 
itself  amidst  overpowering  numbers.  The  advo- 
cates for  an  atonement  made  for  all  men  have  been 
successful,  the  advocates  for  a  limited  atonement 
are  in  a  miserable  minority.  Now  the  same  is  the 
position  of  the  author  of  this  book — the  same  shall 
be  the  result.  Certain  persons  would  limit  baptism, 
the  seal  of  the  Christian  covenant,  to  believers 
only,  they  say.  But  when  we  come  to  find  what 
this  word  "believers"  means,  it  not  only  implies 
the  belief  of  the  parties,  it  implies  something  more ; 
that  they  can  declare  their  faith  by  speech,  or  some- 
thing tantamount  to  speech.  They  in  effect  say 
we  shall  permit  none  to  be  baptized  but  those  who 
believe  and  can  8])eak  upon  the  matter.  This  is  the 
reason  why  they  exclude  babes  from  the  covenant. 
Babes  cannot  talk,  they  are  "  infants." 

Now,  reader,  here  is  my  position ;  I  come  for- 
ward not  in  respect  to  age  as  an  advocate  of  Infant 
Baptism,  but  I  come  forward  to  protest  against  a 
limitation  of  the  covenant,  a  denial  of  baptism,  its 
seal,  to  any  class,  because  of  a  circumstance  not 
spiritual  but  strictly  corporeal.  To  uphold  the 
opinion  that  no  circumstance,  merely  personal, 
such  as  this  is,  of  talking  or  not  talking,  for  this  it 
amounts  to,  should  so  limit  the  covenant  as  to 
deny  baptism,  the  seal  of  it,  to  those  for  whom 
Christ  died,  who  have  immortal  souls,  and  are 
pure  and  clean  from  the  stain  of  actual  sin.  This 
is  my  position.  I  take  my  stand  upon  the  great 
truth,  that  "God  is  no  respecter  of  persons  ; "  I 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  19 

uphold  the  truth,  that  no  circumstances  merely 
personal,  as  infancy,  or  youth,  or  age,  speaking  or 
not  speaking,  are  disqualifications  for  an  alliance 
between  the  pure  and  ever-living  spirit  and  the 
all-pure  Father  of  spirits. 

And  this  question  of  the  limitation  of  the  seal 
of  God's  covenant,  I  do  not  count  to  be  any  indif- 
ferent or  unimportant  matter.  The  question  of  the 
exclusion  or  the  admittance  to  such  a  privilege,  as 
is  that  of  membership  in  the  Church  of  God,  is 
manifestly  a  most  deeply  important  one.  The  more 
so,  that  if  a  wrong  and  injury  be  done  to  those  who 
are  thus  excluded,  it  is  a  wrong  inflicted  upon  those 
who  cannot  resist  it,  and  are  unconscious  of  the 
injury  inflicted,  and  yet  must  suffer  by  it ;  a  wrong 
done  to  those  whom  all  men  call  innocent,  and  all 
love  and  pity. 

However,  let  us  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  this 
consideration.  There  are  manifestly  but  two  sides 
to  the  question: — "  the  baptism  of  infants  according 
to  the  letter,  the  tenor,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel," 
this  is  the  one  side;  or,  "the  baptism  of  infants 
contrary  to  the  letter,  the  tenor,  and  the  spirit  of 
the  Gospel;"  this  is  the  other  side.  Both  these 
cannot  be  true;  one  must  be  true  and  the  other 
false.  This  must  be  the  case,  no  matter  how  many 
are  on  the  one  side  or  on  the  other ;  there  is  no 
alternative,  no  indifference,  no  third  point.  This 
must  be  the  conclusion  of  every  reasoning  man 
and  woman. 

This  is  manifestly  the  alternative  between  fixed 
Peedobaptists,  as  Churchmen  are  by  their  profes- 


20  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

sion,  and  fixed  Anti-paedobaptists,  as  the}^  are  who 
deny  infant  baptism,  and  make  that  denial  a  term 
of  communion.  He  that  affirms  the  one  must  deny 
the  other.  It  would  be  folly  to  take  either  of  these 
parties,  not  to  be  wholly  and  entirely  in  earnest 
upon  the  matter.  It  would  be  the  greatest  insult 
and  injury  to  impute  to  them  indifference  or  care- 
lessness upon  the  point.  By  their  position  and  by 
their  official  acts,  neither  party  is  indifferent, 
each  is  willing  to  accept  of  the  alternative,  to 
affirm  it  and  its  consequences. 

I  myself  as  a  Churchman  am  not  indifferent  in 
the  slightest  degree,  nor  do  I  wish  to  treat  the 
matter  as  an  indifferent  one.  I  consider  it  as  a 
question  of  the  very  highest  importance,  a  vital 
and  fundamental  question.  I  believe  it  one  upon 
which  one  day  or  another  all  parties  must  and  will 
agree;  and  its  decision  I  look  upon  as  the  great 
means  towards  the  bringing  of  all  that  profess 
Christianity  once  more  towards  the  natural  condi- 
tion of  Christianity,  the  condition  of  our  Church, 
having  "  one  God,  one  faith,  one  baptism."  Nor 
do  I  care  for  indifferent  readers ;  they  who  see  the 
alternative  to  be  as  it  is  stated  above,  that  "  infant 
baptism,  according  to  the  scriptures,  must  be  either 
true  or  false,"  and  who  having  an  interest  in  the 
rising  generation,  as  all  men  have,  do  not,  as  all 
right-minded  and  warm-hearted  men  ought  to  do, 
feel  that  interest  to  be  a>  vital  and  important  one, 
and  therefore  will  not  see  the  importance  of  this 
question,  and  count  it  a  matter  indifferent,  they 
have  my  full  consent  to  drop  the  book  and  read  no 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  21 

further  on  in  it ;  for  I  feel  that  the  question  is  truly 
whether  Christianity  shall  be  brought  in  contact 
with  the  family,  whether  it  shall  be  an  element  of 
life  in  all  ages,  and  a  motive  and  principle  of 
action  to  all  persons,  or  only  to  those  who  can 
speak.  The  question  is  truly,  shall  it  be  a  thing 
of  the  family,  or  shall  it  be  excluded  from  it,  and 
be  a  matter  of  the  Church  only  ?  The  cold-hearted, 
and  the  selfish,  and  the  short-sighted,  only  can  be 
indifferent  upon  this  question.  Such  readers  I 
care  not  for. 

Now,  with  regard  to  those  who  are  thoroughly 
in  earnest  upon  the  question  of  infant  baptism; 
with  regard,  too,  to  those  who  take  a  real  interest  in 
the  family,  and  considering  it  as  the  very  founda- 
tion of  societ}^  think  that  nothing  is  unimportant 
that  touches  it ;  to  them  I  wish  to  present  the  con- 
sequences of  this  alternative.  I  accept  them  my- 
self, and  am  certain  that  the  fixed  and  honest 
Baptist  is  willing  to  do  the  same,  though  neither 
of  course  will  make  them  matters  of  personal 
offence  to  our  neighbours  ;  both  in  this  matter  are 
willing  to  be  guided  in  the  conduct  of  dail}?  life 
towards  our  neighbours,  by  the  influence  of  charity. 

Now  let  us  look  to  the  consequences  of  the 
alternative.  If  infant  baptism  be  contradictory  to 
the  letter,  the  tenor,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel, 
what  is  it  in  itself  or  in  its  effects?  what  must  we 
consider  it  to  be?  The  answer  is,  "  It  is  and  must 
be  the  most  grievous  of  all  the  corruptions  of 
Christianity — a  perversion  of  the  covenant — a 
mockery  of  our  Lord   Jesus   by  the    introduction 


22  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

into  his  covenant  of  those  who  are  by  his  word 
forbidden  so  to  be  introduced,  and  who  are  un- 
fitted for  it  by  the  principles  of  the  Gospel,  who 
never  may  have  faith  in  him,  and  yet  are  members 
of  his  Church."  Such,  as  regards  God,  is  the  act 
of  the  man  who  baptizes  infants,  if  such  baptism 
be  unscriptural.  This  is  the  estimate  of  the  action 
that  we  are  compelled  to  make  if  the  supposition 
be  true.  But  "  God  not  being  mocked,"  it  is  in 
that  case  "  no  baptism  at  all" — perfectly  invalid. 
The  effect  of  the  act,  therefore,  as  regards  the 
persons  baptized,  is  to  delude  the  parents  with  the 
pretence  that  their  children  are  in  covenant  with 
God,  under  His  protecting  guardianship,  and  the 
peculiar  objects  of  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
when  they  are  not  in  covenant  with  him,  more 
than  any  other  children  when  they  are  not  influ- 
enced by  the  Spirit  any  more  than  any  others.  It 
is  to  propagate  this  delusion,  to  persuade  them  as 
they  grow  up  to  act  as  members  of  "  Christ's 
body,  his  flesh,  and  his  bones,"  when  they  are 
aliens  from  the  household  of  God,  and  the  com- 
monwealth of  Israel.  If,  therefore,  the  Baptists' 
notion  that  infant  baptism  is  unscriptural  be  true, 
such  an  act  on  the  part  of  the  baptized  is,  when 
we  consider  it  in  respect  of  God,  a  mockery  and  a 
blasphem}^ ;  in  respect  of  man,  a  delusion  involving 
very  pernicious  consequences. 

Let  us  do  as  we  may,  if  infant  baptism  be 
contrary  to  the  letter,  the  tenor,  and  the  spirit  of 
the  scriptures,  such  is  and  must  be  its  nature. 
Christians  may,  and  of  course  will,  in  the  spirit  of 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  23 

Christian  charity,  make  all  allowances  for  preju- 
dices, mistakes,  and  errors,  on  the  part  of  men 
who  are  fallible.  Of  course,  they  will  give  all 
credit  for  suicerity  and  for  right  motives,  perverted 
and  misdirected  by  outward  circumstances.  But 
still  these  change  not  the  nature  of  the  act ;  if  it  be 
wrong  it  must  be  what  we  have  said. 

I  do  not  blame  our  Baptist  friends  for  holding 
such  opinions;  their  action  at  least  is  consistent, 
and  in  accordance  with  their  principles,  and  must 
be  right  if  infant  baptism  be  unscriptural.  I  seek, 
therefore,  to  make  no  capital  from  this  fact  against 
them  ;  to  rouse  no  prejudice,  to  make  no  advantage 
of  it.  They  at  least  are  honest  and  bold,  and 
unflinching  in  their  honesty,  qualities  not  to  be 
despised  in  this  day  of  indifference  and  carelessness. 
And  I  feel  not  uneasy  about  their  opinions,  seeing 
that  along  with  me,  they  must  condemn  the  best 
majority  of  Christians  both  now  and  at  all  times 
previous. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  other  side.  If  infant 
baptism,  as  the  majority  of  professing  Christians 
who  are  Psedobaptists  believe,  be  according  to 
the  letter,  the  tenor,  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel 
of  our  most  blessed  Lord,  what  is  the  practice  of 
the  Baptist  sects  ?  If  it  be  in  accordance  with  the 
Gospel,  that  the  babe  should  be  a  member  of  his 
Church,  manifestly  then  to  exclude  them  from  it, 
must  be  a  cruelty  of  the  worst  kind,  as  done  to 
innocent  babes,  who  are  unconscious  of  the  wrong 
and  cannot  resist  it,  yet  must  suffer  by  it.  If  there 
be  anv  benefits  to  those  who  are  within  the  covenant 


M  MERCY  TO  "BABES. 

more  than  to  those  without  it,  from  the  Almighty 
Father,  whose  providence  rules  all  events  for  the 
good  of  them  that  love  him ;  from  the  Son  who  has 
died  for  the  unspeaking  babe  as  well  as  the  adult ; 
from  the  eternal  and  all-pervading  Spirit ;  it  is  to 
deprive   them   of  all  these    unjustly  and   cruelly, 
and  at  a  period  when  the}^  most  need  it,  to  cut  off 
from  the  babe,  the  child,   and  the  growing  youth, 
influences  which,  though  unseen,  the  eye  of  faith 
views  as  most  precious.     If  grace,  the  oil  of  the 
Spirit,  is  promised  at  baptism,  and  conferred  upon 
those  in  covenant  with  God's  Church,  it  is  cruelty 
to  cut  him  off  from  the  grace  of  God.     To  forbid 
the  little  child  to  come  unto  him  and  thus  to  deserve 
the  rebuke,  and  the  displeasure  of  our  Lord.     If 
there  be  only  two  states  in  this  world,  the  state  of 
covenant  with  God,  and  the  state  of  unregenerate 
human  nature,  it  is  tashut  the  infant  out  from  the 
**  covenant,  to  leave  him  to  all  influences  of  unre- 
generate human  nature  ;  to  keep  him  in  the  world, 
when  he  might  be  in  the  Church  ;  and  to  leave  him 
to  the  prince  of  the  world,  when  he  might  be  a 
subject   of  Christ,    guarded    and    guided    by    his 
covenant ;  more  than  this,  it  is  to  put  a  great  gulf 
between  the  Christian  parent  and  the  child  ;  herself 
a  Christian,  to  compel  her  to  know  that  whatsoever 
claim  herself  may  have  on  the  undeserved  mercy 
of  God,  her  child  has  not  and  cannot  be   taught 
the  facts  and  truths  of  the  Gospel,  as  one  that  has 
a  right  in  them,  but  must  be  instructed  in  Christi- 
anity, as  a  mere  historical  thing,  thus  cutting  away 
all  possibility  of  a  true  Christian  education,  and 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  2S 

taking  away  from  the  infant,  and  the  growing 
boy,  and  the  youth,  Christianity,  as  a  law  of  life, 
and  a  motive  and  principle  of  action.  They  who 
consider  infant  baptism  to  be  just  and  scriptural, 
must  by  that  very  fact  hold  these  opinions,  as  to 
the  effect  of  a  systematic  denial  and  opposition  to 
the  baptism  of  infants  ;  they  must  think  it  to  be 
unjust  and  cruel  in  the  highest  degree,  and  attended 
with  the  most  pernicious  consequences. 

Surely  a  doctrine,  the  truth  or  falsehood  of 
which  necessitates  such  opinions  upon  the  part  of 
professing  Christians,  with  regard  to  one  another, 
must,  in  the  course  of  time,  be  decided  one  way  or 
the  other.  Surely  men  that  have  the  bible  in  their 
hands,  must  at  some  time,  come  to  an  unanimous 
decision  upon  a  point  which  forces  them  to  believe 
the  practice  of  their  neighbors,  who  have  faith  in 
the  same  God,  read  the  same  scriptures,  are  saved 
by  the  same  Redeemer,  to  be  of  such  a  character. 
It  would  be  an  injustice  to  the  Almighty  to  suppose 
that  it  will  be  always  so.  We  must  by  the  very 
fact,  that  *'  God  is  love,"  and  love  is  the  fulfilling 
of  the  law,  be,  in  the  course  of  his  providence,  all 
Baptists,  or  else  all  Paedobaptists. 

I  make  no  apology  to  my  readers  for  introducing 
my  subject  in  this  way  to  them ;  nor  do  I  fear 
offending  even  the  most  firm  and  determined  Bap- 
tist, who  may  peruse  this  book  by  it.  They  see 
there  is  an  alternative,  of  which  we  must  take  the 
one  side  or  the  other — baptism  of  infants  is  accord- 
ing to  the  scriptures,  or  opposed  to  them.  And 
which  ever  side  be  true,  the  other  has  necessarily 
2 


26  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

the  character  I  have  given  it.  Such  an  alternative 
need  give  no  offence ;  it  is  one  of  position,  and  which 
cannot  be  avoided,  but  must  be  taken ;  it  is  one 
wliich  shows  the  importance  of  the  question,  the 
absolute  necessity  for  deciding  it  in  the  one  way 
or  the  other — and  by  the  bible  we  shall  decide  it. 


CHAPTER   II 


PART   I. 


How  the  Bible  is  to  be  argued  upon  in  this  matter. 

In  my  last  I  stated  the  position,  that  in  arguing  for 
infant  baptism  I  did  not  argue  as  if  that  age  were 
a  qualification,  but  that  I  took  the  broad  ground, 
ihsit  it  is  no  disqualification ;  that  age,  or  sex,  or  any 
circumstances  whatsoever,  that  do  not  stain  the 
soul  with  actual  sin,  cannot  be  a  bar  to  the  mercies 
of  God ;  that  I  here  protest  against  the  limitation 
of  God's  covenant  by  man's  notions. 

I  stated  too,  the  importance  of  the  question  in 
such  a  way  that  each  fair  and  candid  individual 
must  think  that  if  I  am  wrong,  I  have  been  as 
severe  upon  the  consequences  of  my  error  as  upon 
those  of  the  other  side  ;  and  finally,  I  declared  that 
to  the  bible  I  should  appeal,  and  decide  the  question 
by  it. 

Now  let  the  laity  remember  that  I  am  writing 
for  them  ;  let  them  remember  that  it  is  to  the  bible 
I  appeal,  and  not  as  a  controversialist ;  let  them 
consider  that  they  have  not  the  books  of  Christian 
archaeology;  that  the  most  of  Christian- writers  of 
the  last  ages  are  shut  up  in  tomes  of  Greek  and 


28  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

Latin,  and  yet  they  have  the  bible  in  their  hands ; 
T  ask  them  then  to  think  how  we  shall  take  the 
bible ;  seriously  and  solemnly  I  ask  them,  before 
entering  upon  the  question,  to  think  how  the  bible 
should  be  taken. 

Let  them  bear  in  mind,  first,  the  position  that 
I  have  taken ;  a  position  so  different  from  that  of 
the  ordinary  v/riters  ;  the  position  of  a  teacher  that 
has  the  truth.  Let  them  then  think  upon  their  own 
position ;  that  of  men  who  seek  the  truth  and  are 
in  earnest  about  it ;  for  I  hope  the  remarks  I  have 
made  in  the  previous  chapter  will  have  caused  all 
vain  and  inquisitive  persons  with  itching  ears,  to 
have  laid  the  book  aside  before  they  come  so  far 
as  this.  I  hope  that  all  who  peruse  this  page  are 
in  earnest,  and  see  the  deep  and  solemn  importance 
of  the  alternative  which,  on  the  one  side,  implies 
mockery  of  the  Almighty ;  on  the  other,  spiritual 
cruelty  of  the  most  pernicious  kind.  This  mutual 
position  then  of  the  writer  and  of  his  readers, 
implies  a  temper  in  both  him  and  them,  which  is 
in  a  great  measure  unknown  to  books  upon  this 
point,  and  readers  of  these  books.  Now  to  show 
what  temper  that  is,  let  us  just  see  how  men  argue. 
Romanists  assert  that  infant  baptism  cannot  be 
proved  from  the  scripture,  though  some  of  their 
eminent  authors  consider  it  can,  when  it  suits  their 
purpose.  They,  therefore,  are  out  of  our  way;  we 
have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  We  are  Protestants. 
We  have  taken  at  the  beginning  of  this  treatise 
the  Protestant  ground,  that  nothing  is  an  article  of 
faith  but  that  can  be  proved  from  the  scriptures- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  29 

Now  the  dispute  on  infant  baptism  is  between 
Protestants.  The  Baptists  on  the  one  side,  as 
fixed  and  determined  in  practice  as  well  as  doc- 
trine, consistent  Anabaptists  ;  and  on  the  other,  the 
Paedobaptists,  at  whose  head,  as  perfectly  con- 
sistent both  in  doctrine  and  practice,  we  have  put 
the  Church.  Now  we  ask  of  sober-minded  and 
thoughtful  men  and  women,  to  look  at  the  way  in 
which  this  argument  has  been  hitherto  carried  on. 
The  bible,  we  will  remark,  is  the  common  ground 
both  profess  to  go  upon.  The  Baptist  brings  up 
a  text  which  he  thinks  to  prohibit  infant  baptism; 
he  urges  it,  goes  upon  it,  takes  his  stand  upon  it, 
as  ground  firm  and  sure,  that  cannot  be  cut  away. 
The  Paedobaptist  comes  again,  he  takes  the  same 
text,  he  shows  again  that  there  is  no  strength  in  it ; 
that  the  interpretation  is  wrong.  Again,  the  Bap- 
tist replies  ;  the  reply  is  followed  by  a  rejoinder ; 
pages  are  written,  and  books,  all  to  prove  or  dis- 
prove. Now  these  books  are  for  the  laity,  to  be 
read  by  them.  Is  Ihis  the  taking  the  bible  as  our 
ground?  I  ask  the  fair  common  sense  Christian, 
is  ic  so  ?  No  :  certainly  it  is  not.  The  proof  is  not 
the  text  at  all ;  for  it  requires  to  be  proved  that 
it  means  so  and  so.  Men,  of  whose  learning, 
ability,  and  honesty,  we  have  enough  evidence, 
assert  the  one  side  and  assert  the  other.  What  is 
the  proof  then  ?  Why,  it  is  the  correctness  of  their 
own  reasonings,  the  quantity  of  Greek  criticism 
brought  out  in  their  pages,  and  supported  by  great 
names,  of  whom  the  ordinary  Christian  has  but  sel- 
dom heard.    The  opinion  of  this  great  man  and  the 


30  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

Other  great  man ;  history,  which  one  in  a  thousand 
knows  nothing  about,  and  the  antiquities  of  eighteen 
centuries,  as  much  as  can  be  put  in  twenty  pages. 
Assertion,  denial,  argumentation,  history,  criticism, 
archaeology,  nine-tenths  of  the  matter  written  upon 
the  one  side  and  the  other,  is  clearly  out  of  the 
tract  of  ordinary  Christian  men  and  women.  Prove 
baptism  by  the  bible,  when  the  bible  texts  them- 
selves, upon  which  they  rely,  are  themselves  to  be 
proved  by  a  quantity  of  learned  matter,  which  is 
so  far  out  of  the  way  of  ordinary  men,  as  the 
Mahabarater  of  the  Sanscrit  poet,  or  the  Shuch- 
manch  of  Fredusi!  Really  and  truly,  considering 
the  ground  we  Protestants  profess  to  take,  it  has 
been  hitherto  kept  to  but  ill !  The  argument 
hitherto  has  not  been  the  bible,  but  the  learning, 
research,  and  argument,  of  Dr.  G.  and  Dr.  T. ; 
very  good  indeed  when  you  have  taken  deci- 
sively one  side  or  the  other,  and  believe  and 
have  full  confidence  in  them,  and  their  truth  and 
candor;  good  then,  for  confirmation  of  3^our  belief, 
but  no  good  at  all  in  deciding,  and  not  by  any 
means  deserving  the  name  of  arguments  founded 
upon  the  bible.  Let  the  Baptist  or  Psedobaptist, 
who  is  no  scholar,  take  his  books,  those  he  most 
trusts  upon,  and  he  will  see  that  his  so  called  bible 
proof  is  none  at  all,  being  itself  proved  by  other 
proofs  of  which,  by  his  position,  he  cannot  know 
whether  they  are  true  or  false,  and  does  most  surely 
know  that  they  are  denied  by  a  multitude.  The 
so  called  "  bible  arguments,"  are  no  such  thing 
at  all. 


MERCy  TO  EABES.  31 

The  sense  and  feeling  of  this  fact  is  what  has 
driven  the  author  to  write  this  book.  He  has  felt 
that  the  religious  faith  of  nrjan,  the  undying,  is  not 
a  thing  to  be  thus  played  upon ;  not  a  pair  of  scales 
to  go  in  this  manner,  see-sawing  between  pro  and 
con.  He  feels  that  one  side  is  true,  and  a  thousand 
learned  doctors,  and  a  thousand  cart  loads  of  learn- 
ing, cannot  weigh  it  down.  He  knows  it  is  true 
according  to  the  bible,  and  therefore  he  will  not 
argue  in  a  way  which  talks  of  the  bible,  and 
virtually  puts  the  bible  out  of  place,  and  puts  in 
learning,  research,  the  argument  of  men,  instead 
of  the  holv  word  of  God.  He  writes  for  the  un- 
learned  and  the  ordinary  Christian ;  he  does  not 
then  bring  in  learning,  and  learned  arguments,  of 
which  they  can  be  no  judges.  He  writes  as  a 
teacher  that  has  the  truth,  and  not  as  a  lawyer  em- 
ployed in  defending  a  cause,  right  be  it  or  wrong. 
Every  thing  he  says,  every  statement  he  makes, 
the  ordinary  and  unlearned  Christian  shall  be  able 
to  judge  of,  whether  it  is  true  or  false,  and  form 
his  opinions  accordingly  ;  no  need  shall  he  have  of 
Greek,  or  Hebrew,  or  Latin,  or  metaphysics,  or  the 
knowledge  of  a  multitude  of  books,  to  decide  upon 
it.  This  is  the  way  of  one  who  believes  his  doc- 
trine to  be  in  the  bible,  and  to  be  capable  of  being 
proved  from  it — this  and  not  the  other. 

How  then  shall  we  take  the  bible — for  evidently 
there  are  two  ways  of  taking  it ;  one  we  have 
pointed  out  above.  In  this  way  we  shall  not  take 
it;  others  may  Ifring  in  nice  interpretation,  and 
subtle   special  pleading,   by  which  to  evade  the 


32  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

plain  sense  of  the  words  that  lie  upon  the  surface. 
They  may  then  wrestle  and  try  in  controversy,  and 
search  through  all  the  rubbish  of  past  ages,  for 
supports  to  prop  them  up.  We  shall  not  do  so; 
we  shall  take  the  scripture  as  it  lies,  in  the  plain 
manifest  sense  in  which  any  man  of  piety  and 
ordinary  good  sense  must  be  forced  to  take  the 
words,  if  unprejudiced.  And  we  demand  of  the 
sober-minded,  that  when  we  bring  forward  pas- 
sages of  the  scripture  in  this  sense,  that  they  take 
the  word  of  God  as  it  reads  and  as  it  means;  that 
they  cast  away  the  false  interpretations  of  sect  and 
party,  and  take  the  word  of  God  as  it  stands. 

We  take  the  liberty  of  dwelling  upon  this  point 
a  little  ;  of  solemnly  urging  it  upon  the  hearts  and 
consciences  of  our  readers  ;  for  barely  to  have  the 
bible  in  our  hands  and  in  our  mouths  is  not  enough, 
if  we  do  not  act  in  this  way.  The  Pharisees  of 
old  had  the  bible,  and  sincerely  professed  to  go  by 
it,  but  they  had  their  subtilties,  their  distinctions, 
their  sect-interpretations;  and  these  they  taught — 
their  laity  believed  them.  These  did  away  the 
force  of  the  scriptures  ;  as  it  is  said,  "  they  taught 
for  traditions  the  doctrines  of  men  ; "  and  again, 
'*  ye  have  made  the  commandment  of  God  of  none 
effect  by  your  traditions  ; "  that  is,  by  subtle  inter- 
pretations, handed  down  from  one  to  the  other, 
which  did  away  the  plain  force  of  the  scriptures. 
And  he,  the  Teacher  whom  we  follow,  the  Master 
that  has  commissioned  us  to  teach,  he  came  not  to 
them  in  their  own  way  of  argum*entation  and  de- 
bate.    No  :  he  was  a  teacher  and  not  a  controver- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  33 

sialist.  He  placed  first  the  word  of  God,  nnd  side 
by  side  with  it,  the  tradition  which  did  it  away. 
*'  God  commanded,  honor  thy  father  and  mother, 
and  he  that  curseth  father  or  mother,  let  him  die 
the  death.  But  ye  say,  whosoever  shall  say  to  his 
father  or  mother,  it  is  (corban)  a  gift,  by  whatsoever 
thou  mightest  be  profited  b}^  me  ;  and  honor  not 
his  father  or  his  mother,  he  shall  be  free."  (Matt. 
XV.  4 — 6.)  No  refutation  here  of  the  arguments  by 
which  the  sect-interpretation  was  proved,  and  they 
are  many  and  plausible ;  but  one  placed  side  by 
side  with  the  other,  and  the  decision  left  to  the 
truth  that  lies  in  the  heart  of  man.  So  when  the 
Romanists  had  declared  that  images  might  be 
worshipped  and  bowed  down  to,  because  of  certain 
subtle  interpretations,  needless  here  to  mention, 
the  true  refutation  is  juxta-position  of  them  with 
the  plain  words  of  scripture,  "  thou  shalt  not  make 
to  thyself  a  graven  image — thou  shalt  not  bow 
down  to  them  nor  worship  them," 

The  controversialist  refutes.  The  teacher  says, 
"  here  is  the  word  of  God  in  its  plain  sense ; 
here  the  interpretation  which  does  it  away;  if  you 
take  the  word  of  man  instead  of  the  word  of  God, 
you  do  it  at  your  peril — I  am  free." 

Now  this  is  not  of  those  days  onl}^,  but  now  it 
is  the  curse  of  a  sect-rent  Christianity.  Good  men 
and  pious  men  in  centuries  gone  by,  have  organized 
sects  ;  the  practices  they  enjoined  have  necessi- 
tated interpretations  according  with  these  practices. 
These  are  handed  down  from  one  generation  to 
another ;  they  have  with  men  the  force  of  scripture, 

9* 


34  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

while  they  do  away  the  scripture ;  yea,  its  plain 
words  and  manifest  sense.  Upon  this  we  stand  as 
Churchmen,  as  will  be  after  seen  in  the  course  of 
this  practice  ;  upon  this  the  author  stands  in  this 
book.  He  brings  the  words  of  scripture,  and  side 
by  side  with  them  the  tradition.  He  neither  argues 
nor  refutes,  but  takes  the  plain  sense.  This  is  the 
way  in  which  we  take  the  bible ;  a  fair  and  just 
way,  as  every  one  can  see — the  only  way  in  which 
men  can  come  to  a  conclusion.  If  any  one,  there- 
fore, denies  the  conclusions  we  come  to,  he  need 
not  look  far  for  the  reason.  He  will  find  some 
passage  or  other  previously  adduced,  some  plain 
text  of  the  scripture,  which,  because  of  his  sect- 
prejudices,  of  his  previous  teaching,  he  was  un- 
willing to  take  in  its  manifest  sense — the  sense  in 
which  it  reads.  Upon  his  own  head  be  the  respon- 
sibility then;  he  and  his  notions  shall  pass  away, 
but  "  the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever." 

Of  course  men  will  say,  "  if  you  act  thus  3^ou 
will  have  but  small  success;  you  will  be  refuted, 
argued  against,  disproved,  put  down  by  jeers,  and 
slightly  valued."  We  are  content  to  be  so — such 
was  our  Master.  But  still  with  God's  word  in  its 
plain  sense  upon  our  side,  and  the  truth,  and  a 
heart  and  soul  that  feels  the  truth  and  its  work, 
we  do  not  care  for  these  things.  We  enter  upon  a 
new  course  upon  this  subject,  a  course  different 
from  the  old  ;  and  we  believe  in  man,  in  his  desire 
after  the  truth,  in  all  things.  We  bring  the  truth 
here,  and  a  most  vital  one,  which  we  deeply  realize 
ourselves,  and  in  the  way  that  we  think  the  best, 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  35 

and  we  feel  that  some  at  least  must  realize  it ;  and 
though  no  renown  may  follow  this  book,  still  we 
shall   have  our  reward,  and  that  in  the  way  we 
desire.     If  because  of  this  book  a  father  shall  take 
his  children  upon  his  knee,  and  feeling  that  they 
are   by  holy   baptism   made   members   of  Christ, 
children  of  God,  and  inheritors  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  shall  do  his  duty  by  them  as  a  Christian 
father,  a  priest  in  his  own  house,  in  leading  them 
onward  in  the  path  of  obedience  to  God  and  duty ; 
training  them  in  God's  word,  and  in  his  ways,  as 
members  of  the  covenant  to  whom  the  promise  is ; 
instead  of  leaving  them,  as  I  have  seen  pious  men 
do,  to  be  converted  when  adults  ;  and  in  the  mean 
time  to  be  guided  by  all  influence  of  chance  and 
time  ;  and  this  because  there  was  no  bond  of  duty, 
such  as  infant  baptism  establishes  ;   if  because  of 
this  book  one  mother  can  embrace  her  children, 
and  feel  that  they  are  not  her  flesh  and  her  blood 
only,  but  baptized  into  his  body,   by  whom  she  is 
saved,  "  members  of  his  body,  his  flesh,  and  his 
bones,"   and   thereby   do    her    duty  to    them,    as 
women  will  do,  when  they  feel  it,  and  as  but  few 
do  it  at  the  present  day,  outside  the  Church  ;   if 
one  family,  by  means  of  this  book,  can  come  to  be 
wholly  consecrated   to   God,   instead   of  belonging 
half  to  God,  and  half  to  the  world,  the  flesh  and 
the  devnl,  (for  surely  the  unconverted  belong  not  to 
God,)  so  that  an  household  shall  become,  because 
of  it,  a  temple  wholly  consecrated  and  dedicated"' 
to  Him;  then  may  the  author  leave  aside  all  con- 
cern for  controversial  renown  or  controversial  as- 
saults, *'  for  great  shall  be  his  reward  in  h'^aven." 


CHAPTER    III 


PART   I. 


In  what  shape  shall  we  put  the  qustion  ? 

Having  thus  stated  that  we  shall  gp  to  the  bible 
for  an  answer  to  this  question,  and  how  we  shall 
go,  we  proceed  onward  to  the  next  matter  to  be 
decided.  In  consulting  the  bible  upon  the  matter, 
what  is  the  shape  in  which  we  shall  put  the  ques- 
tion? The  Baptist  sa^^s,  bring  us  a  command  to 
baptize  infants.  That  we  shall  not  do — we  baptize 
them  not  in  respect  of  age,  more  than  in  respect  of 
the  same  they  profess  to  baptize  adults.  The  un- 
fairness they  complain  of  in  being  called  advocates 
of  adult  baptism,  we  shall  not  permit  them  to  put 
upon  us.  We  baptize  them  because  they  are  im- 
mortal souls,  for  whom  Christ,  our  most  blessed 
Redeemer  died,  in  whom  there  is  no  speck  or  spot 
of  actual  sin,  and  whom  therefore  we  count  most 
worthy  of  the  covenant  of  God,  and  of  its  seal. 
To  expect  that  our  Lord  Jesus,  in  promulgating 
his  covenant,  would  make  mention  of  infancy  or 
adult  years  ;  would  speak  of  the  baptism  of  boys, 
or  girls,   or  virgins,  or  married  men,  or  married 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  37 

women,  or  widows — this  would  be  an  absurdity. 
The  physical  and  the  personal  has  nothing  at  all 
to  do  with  the  spiritual  covenant. 

But  the  absurdity  of  such  a  demand  is  more 
fully  shown  by  the  question  I  would  put  to  a 
Baptist,  Would  not  you  baptize  an  infant  if  you 
knew  he  had  faith?  Of  course  he  would.  Why 
talk  thus  then  against  infant  baptism  as  such? 
And  pray  is  this  impossible?  He,  who,  a  babe  in 
his  mothers's  womb,  leaped  for  joy  at  the  presence 
of  her  who  bore  unborn  his  Saviour,  how  could  he 
rejoice  in  him  without  believing.  (See  upon  this  Dr. 
Woods  on  Baptism.)  The  same  infant  that  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  from  his  mother's  womb, 
how  could  he  be  so  sanctified,  not  having  faith  ? 

The  conclusion,  therefore,  I  would  come  to,  is 
a  plain  one  ;  it  is  an  absurdity  to  make  a  physical 
and  corporeal  matter  a  qualification  or  disqualifi- 
cation for  a  spiritual  covenant;  a  still  greater  ab- 
surdity to  demand  from  others  such  a  command. 
We  say  that  they  are  fit  for  the  above  reason,  that 
God  is  no  respecter  of  persons  ;  that  age,  or  youth, 
or  sex,  or  condition,  are  nought  to  him  if  the 
qualifications  be  there.  And  they  make  this  purely 
a  pergonal  thing,  a  disqualification  ;  and  call  upon 
us  to  show  that  a  personal  thing,  as  this  is,  is  a 
qualification.  Such  a  matter,  we  say,  as  being 
nothing  m  God's  sight,  cannot  be  a  disqualification ; 
as  being  nothing  in  his  sight,  it  cannot,  and  is  not 
mentioned  as  a  qualification.  The  true  mode  for 
those  who  make  infancy  a  disqualification,  or  non- 
talking,   for  this  is  the  amount  of  it,  they  being 


38  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

absolutely  certain  that  infants  or  babes  do  not  talk, 
and  not  absolutel}^  certain  that  they  do  not  believe, 
is  to  show  that  God  bids  these  stainless  souls, 
whom  his  Son  redeemed,  to  be  excluded  from  his 
covenant,  because  they  are  infants — because  they 
cannot  talk  I  Let  them  go  candidly  to  work  ;  let 
them  say,  although  infants  may  be  sanctified  and 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  although  St.  Peter 
makes  such  an  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  a 
qualification  for  baptism — "  Who  can  forbid  water, 
that  these  be  baptized  who  have  received  the  Holy 
Ghost,  as  well  as  we" — still,  nevertheless,  we 
count  that  the  mere  physical  fact  of  infanc}^  is  a 
disqualification — we  forbid  infants  because  they  are 
such — as  they  do — and  then  let  them  show  chapter 
and  verse  for  it.  This  would  be  the  fair  bible  way 
— the  whole  bible  way.  We  take  not  the  opinion 
or  knowledge  of  man  as  on  a  par  with  the  holy 
word  of  God. 

But,  again,  there  is  another  reason  in  the  nature 
of  the  thing.  The  commission  to  baptize  is  con- 
fessedly the  most  important  text  upon  the  subject. 
In  it  we  should  expect  to  find  directions ;  in  it,  if 
there  were  any  class  excluded  for  other  than  spiri- 
tual qualifications,  a  mention  would  be  made  of 
the  class,  and  yet  behold  the  command  is  general: 
'*  Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach,  (make  disciples  of,) 
all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Fa- 
ther, and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the   Holy  Ghost."* 

*  The  first  Baptists  saw  the  importance  of  establishing  a  limitation 
from  the  command  and  commission.  And  being  ignorant  and  unlearned 
they  thought  they  had  it  in  the  word  "teach" — how  could  they  be 


MERCY  T'O  BABES.  '39 

The  text  then  implies  no  limitation  in  itself,  save 
this,  that  they  in  all  nations,  who  were  capable  of 
the  ordinance,  and  were  capable  of  being  disciples 
of  Christ,  should  be  baptized.  The  command  is 
general.  The  mass  of  Christians  have  ever  taken  it 
so.  They  that  forbid  infants  to  be  baptized  because 
they  are  infants,  their  business  it  is  to  bring  a 
limitation,  to  show  that  as  they  forbid  "  infants," 
so  do  the  scriptures  forbid  them.  This  would  at 
once  settle  the  point.  But  Baptists  are  not  very 
hasty  in  entering  upon  this  point;  they  prefer 
making  violent  calls  upon  their  opponents  for  a 
command  from  scripture;  quite  forgetful  that  a 
command  to  baptize  all,  embraces  a  command  to 
baptize  infants,  except  an  exception  of  them  be 
expressly  made.  Such  a  limitation  they  cannot 
produce — such  a  prohibition.  They  are,  therefore, 
very  ready  to  stick  it  out  and  abide  upon  the  other 
ground. 

We,  however,  as  not  wrestling  or  tugging  in 
controversy  with  Baptist  books,  shall  begin  in 
this  way,  and  we  fear  not  that  the  judicious  and 
sober-minded  whom  we  address,  will  be  content 
with  it.  The  first  question,  therefore,  we  shall 
put,  is  this,  Is  infant  baptism  forbidden  in  the 
scriptures  ? 

We  have  given  reasons  enough  why  this  should 
be  the  first  question  for  him  who  seriously  desires 
to  examine  into  the  scriptures;   which  is  quite  a 

taught  except  they  could  speak,  i.  e.  they  could  not  be  infants.  MavQav^ 
is  to  learn  ;  from  it,  comes  ^at6»T«f ,  a  disciple  ;  from  it  again  fxA^nTivm, 
to  make  disciples,  the  word  in  our  text. 


40  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

different  thing,  and  implies  a  different  temper  from 
that  which  seeks  proof  and  desires  to  support  an 
opinion  by  the  scriptures.  Now  shall  we  give  some 
additional  reason  from  the  position  of  the  parties  in 
the  debate.  Every  one  who  knows  any  thing  of 
the  Christian  world,  is  well  aware  that  nineteen- 
twentieths  of  those  who  profess  the  faith  of  Christ, 
and  rest  their  salvation  upon  his  name,  are  against 
the  limitation  of  his  covenant  and  its  seal,  by  the 
circumstance  of  age,  and  consequently  baptize 
infants.  A  small  proportion  only  are  Baptists,  hold- 
ing infancy  to  be  a  disqualification.  Here,  then,  is 
a  vast  majority  of  Christians  at  the  present  day 
professing  to  be  saved  by  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  among  them  there  certainly  is  as  much 
consistency  to  their  profession,  and  as  much  fruits 
of  faith,  as  there  is  amongst  the  Baptists,  whether 
we  count  that  mixed  multitude  of  sects  who  have 
but  little  claim  to  unity,  whether  of  doctrine  or 
practice,  save  in  the  common  fact  of  denying  bap- 
tism to  infants,  and  baptizing  by  plunging  under 
the  water,  or  take  only  the  smaller  body,  called 
regular  Baptists;  in  either  case,  the  rest  of  the 
Christian  world  are  to  them  at  the  least  twenty  to 
one.  Now  are  all  these  men — so  vast  a  majority, 
all  with  the  bible  in  their  hands — all  professing  to 
be  saved  by  Christ  only — all  worshipping  him  as 
their  Saviour — are  they  all  in  the  wrong?  Surely 
"  they  are  all  in  the  wrong — they  baptize  infants." 
*'  Paedobaptism  is  the  most  grievous  corruption  ever 
brought  into  Christianity — a  corruption  which  in- 
validates all  Christianity,  and  destroys — so  all  these 


MERCY   TO  BABES.  41 

art  not  Christians,  nor  do  wc  who  are  Christians^  in 
any  way  recognize  them  as  such." 

But  again,  not  only  is  there  a  majority  now, 
but  for  three  hundred  years,  that  is,  for  nine 
generations,  back  to  the  time  of  the  reformation,  the 
majority  has  been  as  great — have  these  all  been 
under  error  in  the  point?  Surely  so,  say  the  con- 
sistent Baptists.  And  then  from  the  reformation 
up  to  the  time  of  Origen,  during  which  period,  by 
the  confession  of  Baptist  writers  themselves,  the 
whole  Church  unanimously  and  universally  bap- 
tized infants.  During  all  which  times,  however, 
there  might  have  been  two  or  three  scattering 
heretics  here  and  there,  who  held  the  Baptist 
notion — these  were  confessedly  no  Baptist  organi- 
zation, or  as  they  call  it,  a  church.  During  this 
period  of  1350  years,  or  forty-five  generations,  was 
the  whole  Church  in  error  upon  this  point,  prac- 
ticing "  a  grievous  corruption,  which  invalidates 
all  Christian  ordinances,  and  disqualifies  for  the 
name  of  Christian?  "  Surely  the  consistent  Bap- 
lists  say  it  was. 

It  is  a  very  hard  thing  to  believe,  for  any  Chris- 
tian man  who  believes  that  Christ  has  promised  to 
be  with  his  disciples  to  the  end  of  the  world ; 
harder  still  for  one  who  considers  Christianity  and 
the  Church  as  a  power  struggling  in  the  w^orld, 
ever  seeming  to  be  conquered,  yet  ever  overcoming ; 
combating  the  world  through  all  ages  in  its  various 
forms,  from  the  rude  barbarian  of  Attila  and  Gen- 
seric,  with  their  devouring  hosts,  downward  through 
the  devouring  violence  and  brute  force  of  middle 


42  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

age  feudalism;  hard  it  is  to  believe  all  these  holy 
and  self-denying  men,  whom  we  know  through  all 
this  stream  of  ages,  to  have  stood  up  like  men  for 
God  and  his  word,  against  the  fierce  and  bloody 
tyrants  of  the  earth,  and  all  in  the  name  of  Christ, 
our  Lord  and  theirs — that  all  these  were  no  Chris- 
tians, unworthy  of  the  communion  of  Christ's  body 
and  blood,  because  they  baptized  infants  ! 

Supposing  now  that  the  Baptist  doctrtne  is  true 
— granting  too,  as  they  will  grant,  that  they  have 
such  a  mass  against  them  of  those  who  profess  to 
believe  in  Christ,  to  be  saved  by  faith  in  his  name, 
and  in  the  bible  to  find  their  doctrine,  what  is 
their  proper  position  ?  They  are  reformers,  a  body 
of  reformers  fighting  against  a  vast  majority  who 
have  adopted  and  do  support  "an  erroneous  abuse," 
"  one  of  the  most  grievous  corruptions  of  Christi- 
anity." The  position  then,  which  they  take,  essen- 
tially both  by  their  numbers,  as  so  small  compared 
with  the  mass,  and  also  by  the  zeal  with  which 
they  assail  the  others,  is  the  position  of  reformers 
who  protest  against  an  erroneous  positive  abuse. 
But  more  than  this,  it  is  reformers  who  have  the 
same  code  of  laws  of  life  to  appeal  to,  the  very 
same  book,  in  the  same  words,  as  they  have  who 
receive  that  so  called  abuse.  And  to  both  parties 
that  book  stands  in  the  same  position.  What  then 
is  their  ground  as  reformers  ?  surely  that  of  denying 
the  abuse,  of  showing  it  to  be  forbidden.  If  they 
are  in  the  right,  this  would  be  the  position  they 
would  most  naturally  take,  to  show  that  in  the 
scriptures  infant  baptism  is  forbidden.     Such  a  de- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  43 

monstration  would  be  at  once  the  firmest  and  the 
best  support  of  their  principles.  Such  I  have  before 
shown  was  the  position  our  blessed  Lord  took 
with  regard  to  the  Pharisees  and  their  corruptions. 
Such  the  position  the  reformers  took  toward  Rome. 
Here  is  the  abuse  they  said,  for  instance,  of  wor- 
shipping images — they  minded  not  the  subtle  dis- 
tinctions of  Latria  and  Dulia — and  here  is  the 
command,  "  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  any 
graven  image,  or  the  likeness  of  any  thing  in  heaven 
above,  or  the  earth  beneath,  or  the  water  under 
the  earth  :  thou  shalt  not  bow  down  to  them,  nor 
worship  them."  Such  must  be  always  the  position 
of  religious  reformers;  the  position  of  showing  that 
which  they  deem  a  corruption  to  be  plainly  for- 
bidden in  the  scriptures,  a  position  the  Baptists 
are  not  very  fond  of  taking;  however,  we  shall  take 
it.  We  shall  make  the  first  question  to  be  the  in- 
vestigation, as  to  whether  the  baptism  of  infants, 
which  they  charge  as  so  weighty  an  abuse,  is  for- 
bidden by  the  word  of  God.  It  is,  as  we  have 
shown,  the  most  natural  way  of  proceeding ;  a 
way,  which,  when  it  is  clearly  made  out  and 
decided,  gets  us  free  from  an  immensity  of  vague- 
ness and  ambiguity,  and  enables  the  plain  man 
who  has  only  the  bible  in  his  hand,  to  go  on  clearly 
and  tranquilly  to  the  further  examination  of  the 
question. 

The  conduct  of  the  Baptists  towards  the  rest  of 
Christendom,  as  well  as  their  assumed  position  of 
reformers,  protesting  against  an  erroneous  abuse 
which  is    positive    and  injunctive,    warrants  this 


44  MERCY  TO  BABES*. 

mode  of  proceeding.  Their  first  step  ought  to  be 
to  show,  if  they  can,  that  the  scripture  forbids  the 
practice  which  they  disclaim  against  so  forcibly. 
If  the}^  cannot  show  this  to  be  so,  most  likely  they 
are  innovators  instead  of  being  reformers. 

Their  bearing  towards  the  rest  of  Christians 
strengthens  this,  and  will  warrant  the  demand  in  the 
mind  of  every  reasonable  Christian.  The  fact  that 
they,  a  small  minority  in  this  age,  and  in  every 
age  by-gone,  by  cutting  off  all  the  rest  of  Christen- 
dom from  communion,  and  denying  their  baptism, 
deny  them  to  be  Christians,  this  is  a  motive  for 
the  same  line  of  proceeding.  The  others  thus  ex- 
cluded may  say,  *'  We  believe  in  the  same  God — 
we  read  the  same  bible — we  are  saved  by  faith  in 
the  same  Redeemer — we  show  as  much  of  the 
fruits  and  proof  of  faith  as  is  seen  among  you — and 
yet  you  deny  us  to  be  Christians.  Why  is  this  ?  '* 
Surely  this  is  a  fair  question,  one  which  the  hearts 
of  all  men  tell  them  must  be  answered.  And 
what  is  the  answer — "  There  is  among  you  a  great 
and  erroneous  corruption,  the  very  cancer  that 
eats  into  the  heart  of  Christianity — the  baptism  of 
infants."  May  not  the  others  then  make  this  fair 
request,  and  should  it  not  be  gratified — "  Show  us 
then,  that  the  baptism  of  infants  is  what  you  say  it 
is,  by  the  scriptures — show  it  to  be  what  you 
assert  it  to  be  by  the  bible — do  with  us  as  regards 
our  corruptions,  as  our  Lord  did  with  the  Pharisees, 
as  the  reformers  did  by  the  Romish  Church — let 
us  have  the  plain  words  of  scripture,  forbidding 
the  doctrine  and  the  practice.    This  is  the  proceed- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  45 

ingyour  position  and  your  assertions  render  neces- 
sary. This,  then,  we  have  a  right  to  demand.'* 
There  is  no  man  we  believe,  not  even  the  most 
inveterate  enemy  of  infant  baptism,  can  deny  the 
justice  of  such  a  demand,  especially  when  he  con- 
siders the  importance  of  the  question,  and  the 
relative  position  of  the  parties  in  the  case. 

The  next  question,  therefore,  is  this — Is  infant 
baptism  forbidden  in  the  scriptures? 


CHAPTER   IV 


PART  I. 


Is  the  Baptism  of  Infants  forbidden  ? 

We  come  then  to  the  question,  Is  infant  baptism 
forbidden  in  the  scriptures  ?  And  upon  this  I  take 
my  stand.  In  the  name  of  the  huge  majority  of 
Paedobaptists  who  are  upon  the  earth  at  the  present 
day,  in  the  name  of  fifty  generations  of  Christians 
now  dead  and  gone  to  their  rest,  who  both  held 
and  practiced  infant  baptism,  I  ask  for  the  proof 
that  our  practice  is  unscriptural,  I  ask  for  the 
passage  that  forbids  the  baptism  of  infants. 

Let  us  come  to  the  proof.  It  *'  is  a  corruption 
in  the  Church,"  say  the  Baptists,  "  the  most  griev- 
ous and  unscriptural  of  all  corruptions."  Their 
practice  is  in  accordance  with  their  sentiment; 
they  virtually  declare  that  there  are  no  other 
Christians  than  themselves;  they  have  no  commu- 
nion with  others;  as  far  as  lies  in  them,  they  ex- 
communicate all  others.  Surely  one  would  say, 
the  hihle  must  forbid  this  sin.  The  bible  was  hidden 
from  all  Christians  for  fifteen  hundred  years ;  the 
printing  press  was   not   in  existence;   the  clergy 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  47 

kept  the  word  of  God  to  themselves,  and  for  their 
private  gain,  baptized  infants. 

The  bible  has  been  in  the  hands  o^  all  Christian 
denominations  now,  by  their  own  acknowledgment, 
unrestrainedly,  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
and  nineteen-twentieths  of  them  are  not  Baptists. 
This  does  not  look  very  like  the  baptism  of  infants 
being  forbidden  by  the  bible. 

'  It  is  not  forbidden  ;  if  it  be,  let  us  have  chapter 
and  verse.  Not  a  verse  is  there,  not  a  line,  not  a 
w^ord,  that  forbids  it,  in  the  course  of  the  whole 
New  Testament,  from  the  first  chapter  of  St.  Mat- 
thew to  the  last  of  the  Apocalypse.  How  strange 
a  thing  this  is,  if  it  be  "  the  most  erroneous  corrup- 
tion of  the  Gospel  ever  introduced  into  Christi- 
anity;" that  from  Christ  our  Lord,  ever-blessed, 
and  from  his  holy  apostles,  there  should  come  no 
warning  against  it,  no  prophetic  prohibition  of  it, 
no  declaration  of  its  danger,  no  caution  against  it. 
Surely,  the  very  fact,  that  infant  baptism  has  been 
so  extended,  so  universal — this,  if  it  were  a  corrup- 
tion, would  render  such  a  warning  needful,  upon 
the  principles  of  the  Gospel ;  and  yet,  in  the  whole 
of  the  New  Testament,  there  is  no  such  thing,  not 
a  word  forbidding  it ;  through  the  whole  New  Tes- 
tament there  is  not  a  single  text  that  says,  "ye 
shall  not  baptize  infants."  How  strange  a  thing 
this  is,  and  how  inconsistent  with  the  scheme  of 
revelation,  if  the  Baptist  doctrine,  and  their  opinion 
as  to  infant  baptism,  be  correct. 

Again,  if  infant  baptism  be  such  a  thing  as  they 
say  it  is,  so  great  a  corruption,  can  the  common 


48  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

sense  Christian  imagine  that  the  commission  would 
be  left  as  it  is,  general,  *'  Go  ye,  teach,  and  make 
disciples  of  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost?"  Surely  if  the  baptism  of  infants  were  so 
great  a  corruption,  here  would  have  been  the  place 
for  the  exception  to  have  been  made,  "  except 
infants,"  and  the  cause  for  that  exception  in  some 
such  words  as  the  Baptists  now  stigmatize  it  with 
- — '*  for  this  is  a  sin  and  a  corruption."  But  here, 
where  most  naturally  we  should  have  expected 
some  such  thing,  it  being  an  absurdity  to  suppose 
a  commission  given  by  our  Lord  not  clear  and 
distinct,  and  in  itself  having  a  snare  and  a  pitfall 
to  sin,  there  is  no  such  thing;  nay,  through  the 
whole  of  the  scriptures,  there  is  no  text  that  pro- 
hibits the  baptism  of  babes  in  express  words. 

The  amount  of  the  whole  matter  then  is,  that 
it  is  not  forbidden  in  the  scriptures.  I  take  my 
stand  upon  this — I  say  to  my  readers,  that  not  a 
passage  can  be  produced  from  the  one  end  of  the 
New  Testament  to  the  other,  that  prohibits  the 
baptism  of  infants  ;  nay,  not  a  line  from  which  the 
inference  can  be  drawn,  that  they,  having  immortal 
souls,  for  which  Christ  died,  and  being  without 
spot  or  speck  of  actual  sin,  are  incapable  of  being 
in  covenant  with  the  Father  of  spirits,  and  being 
signed  with  the  seal  of  that  covenant. 

This  is  the  plain  common  sense  view  of  the 
case,  which  every  one,  with  his  bible  in  his  hand, 
can  see  to  be  true.  And  standing  upon  this,  I  ask 
men  seriously,  how  they,  professing  to  be  Chris- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  49 

tians,  can  reject  and  cast  away  from  his  covenant, 
those  whom  he  has  not  forbidden. 

Yes ;  but  does  he  command  ?  Yes,  he  does  com- 
tna7idy  for  the  command  embraces  them  in  the  word 
*'  all."  You  say  they  are  the  exception  ;  you  can- 
not establish  that  exception,  asserted  by  yourselves 
only,  and  not  by  him,  for  you  cannot  bring  forward 
the  text  that«says  the}"  are  forbidden. 

How  then  do  they  arrive  at  that  conclusion, 
taking,  as  they  do,  like  all  Protestant  denomina- 
tions, the  scripture  as  their  rule  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice? They  must  acknowledge  they  find  no  express 
prohibition,  no  command  that  says,  '*  thou  shalt 
not  baptize  infants."  Not  being  direct,  it  must  be 
by  inference. 

Inference  is  of  two  kinds,  verbal  and  doctrinal. 
We  assert,  that  neither  verbally  or  doctrinally,  is 
there  any  inference  that  prohibits  infant  baptism. 
Let  our  readers  look  to  this,  and  they  will  see  the 
inference  is  the  other  way.  The  Christian  life  is 
an  inference,  a  realization  of  the  spirit  of  the  scrip- 
ture in  action  :  nineteen-twentieth s  of  them  are 
baptizers  of  infants.  Here  is  the  inference  :  the 
spirit  of  the  scriptures  in  action,  is  it  against  Paedo- 
baptism  ?  No,  certainly,  it  is  for  it:  of  the  millions 
of  those  who  baptized  their  children  in  infancy, 
and  read  God's  holy  word,  upon  how  few  has  the 
notion  of  its  being  wrong  ever  remotely  come  ? 

But  the  inference  is  the  other  way.     The  direct 

command,  enjoining  the  baptism  of  infants  among 

other  classes,  for  so  it  does,  since  the  exception 

which  the  Baptists  make,  is  not  made  in  the  scrip*- 

3 


50  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

tures,  but  solely  made  by  themselves.  The  inferences 
are  all  in  accordance  with  that  direct  command, 
instead  of  against  it.  We  ask  the  plain  common 
sense  Christian  to  consider  with  us  one  of  these, 
before  we  end  this  chapter. 

"  And  they  brought  young  children  to  him,  that 
he  should  touch  them  :  and  his  disciples  rebuked 
those  who  brought  them.  But  Jesus,  when  he 
saw  it,  was  much  displeased,  and  said  unto  them, 
Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid 
them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  whosoever  shall  not  receive 
the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not 
enter  therein.  And  he  took  them  up  in  his  arms, 
put  his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them.'* 
(Mark  x.  13;  Matt.  xix.  14.) 

Now  let  us  remark  upon  this  passage.  Here 
the  parents,  we  may  suppose,  bring  their  infants 
to  Christ — young  children,  it  is  expressly  said, 
wherefore  this?  Because  they  were  pure  and  in- 
nocent; because  too,  before  this  time,  Christ  had 
taken  a  child  and  placed  him  in  the  midst  of  his 
disciples,  as  a  warning;  because  they  knew  too 
that  virtues  had  gone  out  of  him,  and  undoubtedly 
had  reason  to  believe,  that  the  blessing  and  the 
touch  of  such  a  man,  who  was  both  God  and  man, 
must  be  of  no  unimportant  service  to  the  future 
life  of  their  children. 

*'  His  disciples  rebuked  them."  And  wherefore 
should  they  rebuke  them?  Let  the  reader  think 
why.  Surely  it  must  have  been  because  of  their 
intimcv;    for  lookins^  at  Christ   as  a  teacher  and 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  51 

their  teacher,  how  could  unspeaking  babes  become 
disciples  with  them  ;  how  could  they  have  faith  in 
him;  how  could  they  repent?  They  could  not 
speak  at  all,  and  therefore  the  disciples  judged 
that  they  could  not  be  disciples.  Again :  after 
being  blessed  by  him,  who  knew  but  that  they 
would  disgrace  that  blessing  ?  Again  :  of  what  ser- 
vice could  it  be,  that  he  should  touch  them?  The 
mind  of  infants  could  not  be  conscious  of  that 
blessing  which  should  be  given,  and  what  spiritual 
good  could  come  to  the  souls  of  them  by  a  touch. 

''  And,  therefore,  they  rebuked  them."  Faith 
they  had  in  that  which  he  told  them,  because  of 
his  wondrous  works — faith  in  the  act  proposed  they 
could  not  have  without  evidence,  and  no  evidence 
they  had  seen.  They  rebuked  those  fathers  and 
mothers  in  whom  their  human  nature  spoke,  and 
believed  in  Christ.  They  spoke  harshly  and 
severely,  and  were  for  forbidding  them.  They, 
believers  in  Christ,  could  not  consider  the  instruc- 
tive yearning  of  nature  here  to  be  aught  but  folly, 
such  folly  as  merited  a  rebuke. 

"  And  then  he  was  much  displeased."  The 
anger  of  a  man  and  his  just  displeasure,  is  a  thing 
truly  to  be  afraid  of  and  grieved  at ;  but  here  is 
the  displeasure  of  him  who  was  both  God  and 
man;  as  God,  without  wrath,  save  at  sin  and  evil ; 
as  man,  pure  from  sin,  and  then  far  from  sinful 
anger;  free  from  wrath,  at  evil  inflicted  upon  him- 
self, and  meek  in  bearing  suffering  without  anger, 
however  great  his  sorrow  might  be. 

"  And  he  was  much  displeased."     Surely  be- 


5S  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

cause  they  had  sinned,  because  presumptuously 
trusting  upon  their  own  reasonings,  they  had  striven 
to  keep  away  from  him  the  helpless  and  the  unde- 
filed,  and  had  repressed  the  voice  and  instinct  of 
nature  in  the  parent's  heart,  crying  after  a  blessing 
for  their  children. 

"And  he  said.  Suffer  little  children  to  come 
unto  me."  From  this  we  see  little  children  then 
could  come  to  him.  Can  they  not  come  now  ?  Is 
there  any  thing  in  the  state  of  a  babe  born  of  the 
race  of  Adam  different  now  from  what  it  was  then? 
Is  there  any  thing  in  Christ  now,  "  the  same  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  for  ever,"  different  from  what 
there  was  then  ? 

"  Forbid  them  not."  Man  then  could  forbid 
them.  The  way  in  which  Christ  enjoined  that 
they  should  suffer  them  to  come,  this  way  might 
by  men,  and  his  own  disciples  too,  be  blocked  up 
against  them,  and  they  forbidden  by  them. 

"  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God."  The  kingdom 
of  God  is  the  *'  Church  on  earth  and  in  heaven." 
Here  is  a  qualification,  Christ  died  for  them,  they 
had  immortal  souls,  they  were  free  from  actual 
guilt.  Christian,  thou  who  believest  in  the  atone- 
ment of  sins  through  faith  in  Christ  after  repent- 
ance, is  not  this  the  state  in  which  thou  professest 
to  be — this  state  of  a  little  child?  and  is  it  not 
because  of  this,  that  thou  comest  forward?  if  this 
were  not  thy  state,  wouldest  thou  come  to  his  holy 
baptism?     Look  then  at  the  following  verse. 

'*  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of 
God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter  therein." 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  id 

Here  it  is  most  plainly  laid  out  to  be  so.  The 
word  **  as,"  manifestly  implying  situation  and  char- 
acter, and  not  merely  docility.  In  the  other  Gospel, 
where  this  passage  is  cited,  *' of  such  is  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,"  evidently  *'  such  "  in  quahties. 

*'  And  he  took  them  up  in  his  arms,  laid  his 
hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them."  Took  up 
infants  who  were  unconscious,  and  knew  not  there- 
fore of  it ;  laid  his  hands  upon  them  ;  upon  the  flesh 
of  these  babes,  the  Master  of  spirits,  our  spiritual 
Teacher,  laid  the  hands  of  his  sinless  humanity, 
his  hands  of  human  flesh  as  our's,  but  hands  un- 
tainted with  the  fires  and  pollution  of  sin,  and 
blessed  them;  words  of  benediction,  which  their 
ears  heard  yet  did  not  understand,  and  what  did 
not  convey  any  mental  emotion  to  the  undeveloped 
soul  ;  what  benefit  could  these  be  to  them  ? 

Ecclesiastical  history  tells  us,  that  in  after  years, 
before  the  justest  and  the  greatest  of  the  Roman 
persecuting  emperors,  there  stood  a  poor  and  aged 
man,  a  holy  bishop  of  the  Church,  bearing  testimony 
to  the  first  of  the  Christians'  maxims,  with  his  in- 
carnate Lord.  And  how  the  pagan  scofled  at  the 
notion,  that  a  living  man  could  bear  within  him 
the  crucified.  And  that  Ignatius  said,  *'  I  am  Igna- 
tius called  Theophoros."  (God- bearing  and  God- 
borne,  the  word  has  both  these  meanings.)  The 
first  he  brought  forth  in  his  answer  to  Trajan ;  for 
the  second,  ecclesiastical  history  tells  us  that  he 
was  one  of  those  babes  borne  of  Christ,  and  blessed 
by  his  hands. 

You  ask  me,  then,  what  good  this  could  have 


54  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

done?  This  blessing  and  touching  with  Christ's 
hand,  could  they  not  afterwards  have  fallen  into 
sin?  Yes;  but,  my  friend,  I  will  tell  you,  there 
are  things  I  cannot  deny,  might  happen ;  I  have 
no  proof  that  they  did  not  happen,  and  yet  I  will 
not  believe  that  they  could  happen.  Did  you  ever 
think  upon  the  fact  of  Adam's  sin,  and  consider 
it  as  possible,  that  the  first  of  men  might  have 
perished  everlastingly?  Yes;  it  is  possible  no 
doubt,  and  yet  without  argument,  without  proof, 
without  any  thing  to  prevent  it,  there  is  hardly 
a  Christian  to  whom  such  a  supposition  will  not 
be  too  revolting  to  entertain  for  a  moment.  We 
must,  by  the  instinctive  force  of  nature,  believe 
that  Adam  did  not  perish  everlastingly.  So  with 
these  children,  blessed  of  Christ,  I  confess  so  much 
does  the  voice  of  nature  in  me  approve  and  exult 
in,  the  voice  of  nature  in  their  parents,  that  be  they 
few  or  be  they  many,  I  can  as  soon  thmk  of  one 
of  them,  blessed  by  Christ  in  their  helpless  infancy 
perishing,  as  of  Adam. 

I  have  digressed,  however,  from  the  subject. 
Here  we  have  two  classes.  The  disciples  rebuking 
— not  suffering — forbidding.  We  have  Christ  much 
displeased  at  this — laying  his  hands  upon  uncon- 
scious babes,  and  blessing  them.  I  ask  plainly 
and  candidly  upon  which  side  our  Baptist  brethren 
would  have  been.  Surely  the  action  of  the  disciples 
in  the  text  would  have  been  theirs  ;  their  rebukes 
would  have  been  theirs.  Surely,  too,  all  the  argu- 
ments against  bringing  infants  to  be  touched  and 
blessed  of  Christ  then,  are  in  every  way  the  same 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  55 

of  the  Baptists.  Explain,  argue,  account  as  you 
may  for  the  facts  of  the  case,  the  position  of  the 
disciples  is  the  position  our  Baptists  would  then 
have  taken  ;  all  the  reasons  for  that  position,  which, 
upon  the  supposition  that  the  disciples  were  rea- 
sonable beings,  we  can  assign  to  them,  are  the 
reasons  of  the  Baptists  against  infant  baptism. 
And  every  quality  in  the  infant  that  meets  the 
Baptist  as  an  impediment  to  infant  baptism  is 
here ;  every  argument  against  it,  from  the  nature 
of  baptism  itself  is  here  also  ;  every  thing  in  the 
parents  is  here  too,  that  is,  in  the  parents  who  bring 
their  children  to  the  laver  of  regeneration  ;  the 
parent's  faith  and  parental  love  ;  the  babe's  uncon- 
sciousness ;  the  taking  it  in  his  arms,  blessing,  and 
laying  hands  upon  it,  all  these  are  in  infant  bap- 
tism; and  the  motives  in  the  one  are  the  motives 
in  the  other. 

It  is  easy  to  see  what  side  a  Baptist,  with  the 
principles  and  notions  Baptists  have,  v/ould  have 
taken;  forbidding  the  baptism  of  infants,  they 
would  have  forbidden  this  also.  I  ask  of  those 
who  doubt  or  deny  infant  baptism,  who  clearly 
see,  as  see  they  must,  that  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  an  exception  to  the  command  to  baptize  all 
made  in  the  case  of  infants,  because  of  their 
infancy,  to  go  over  this  passage,  to  consider  the 
position  of  the  disciples,  the  arguments  that  must 
and  would  have  led  them,  and  to  think  of  the 
fact,  that  Jesus,  our  Redeemer,  the  ever-blessed, 
was  much  displeased.  To  think  that  they  them- 
selves, by  "  forbidding "  them  whom  he  has  not 


66  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

forbidden,   may  be   incurring   the    displeasure  of 
their  Lord ! 

I  know  the  way  men  get  over  this,  by  the 
assertion  that  it  is  merely  an  event  of  our  Lord's 
life,  and  not  a  command  to  baptize  infants.  Surely 
so  it  is,  no  one  said  ever  it  was  any  more  ;  an  act 
it  is,  paralled  in  all  the  circumstances,  and  as  an 
example  warranting  most  fully,  the  inference  that 
we  have  drawn.  Pages  may  be  written,  but  in- 
fants, the  babes  of  our  race,  are  the  same  as  in 
the  days  of  our  Lord — they  can  come  to  him  as 
such,  now  as  then.  And  he  who  has  promised 
to  be  with  his  Church  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
is  the  same  now  as  then — the  same  in  mercy,  the 
same  in  love,  the  same  in  all  the  attributes  of  that 
humanit}^  which  he  took  of  his  mother,  and  still 
bears,  seated  upon  God's  everlasting  throne,  which 
should  lead  him  to  bless  and  pity,  and  pour  out 
his  benedictions  upon  the  babes  of  our  race,  bre- 
thren of  his  liesh.  His  ministers  too  have  the  sure 
promise,  that  what  they  do  in  his  name  he  does 
for  them.  And  thanks  be  to  God,  the  hearts  of 
fathers  and  mothers  are  the  same,  and  however 
much  they  may  be  perverted  by  false  doctrine  and 
practice,  still  their  feelings  cannot  be  utterly  de- 
stroyed. And  then,  though  pages  upon  pages  were 
written,  still  will  these  things  arise,  and  dash  away 
the  flimsey  web.  And  while  they  who  are  in  his 
Church,  and  therefore  taught  of  him,  particularly 
each  time  they  read  this  passage,  see  that  he  who 
blameth  them  for  their  practice,  blameth  Christ, 
for  so  it  is  always,  "  the  rebukes  of  them  that 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  57 

rebuked  thee  fell  upon  me."  They  who  are  out- 
side and  yet  sincerely  seek  the  truth  at  least,  must 
admit,  that  all  the  force,  all  the  influence,  from 
this  passage,  goes  clearly  and  plainly  against  the 
supposition,  that  infant  baptism  is  a  thing  for- 
bidden. 

,  We  have  shown  that  while  the  position  of  the 
question  as  agitated  between  the  Baptists  and 
other  denominations  requires  a  prohibition,  in  plain 
words,  the  command  being  general,  and  the  posi- 
tion of  ihe  Baptists  themselves  as  reformers,  argu- 
ing against  a  "positive  and  injunctive  error"  of 
practice,  and  bestowing  upon  it  such  titles  as  they 
do,  requires  the  same.  There  is  yet  no  such  pro- 
hibition to  be  found.  We  then  consider  that  there 
might  be  an  inference  possibly,  which  would 
amount  to  a  prohibition.  Now,  inference  being  of 
two  kinds,  verbal  and  circumstantial,  and  also 
doctrinal,  we  sought  after  the  first  kind,  and  the 
reader  has  seen  the  circumstantial  inference  is  all 
the  other  way.  There  are  no  words  in  the  bible 
from  which  we  can  draw  the  doctrine,  that  the 
*'  baptism  of  infants  is  forbidden;"  no  circum- 
stances from  which  we  can  argue,  that  our  Saviour 
and  his  apostles  held  such  a  dogma;  but  very  plain 
evidence  that  the  apostles,  in  their  blindness,  ap- 
proached very  much  to  the  principles  on  which  it 
would  be  founded,  and  for  this  incurred  our  Sa- 
viour's heavy  rebuke  and  exceeding  displeasure. 

This,  then,  we  count  enough;  we  shall  turn  to 
doctrinal  inference. 


I 


CHAPTER   I. 


PART  II. 


Objections  from  Doctrinal  Inference. 

We  have  shown  that  the  baptism  of  infants  is  not 
forbidden  in  the  scriptures.  This  is  what  we  have 
at  present  established,  nor  do  we  ask  our  readers 
to  believe  more  than  that  it  is  not  forbidden. 

We  have  shown  also,  that  there  is  no  physical 
qualification  attached  to  it ;  no  distinction  of  "  in- 
fancy" or  "adult"  years;  why  then  is  the  phy- 
sical distinction  made?  for  surely  they  that  sneer 
at  the  "  baptism  of  babes,"  imply  that  they  will  not 
baptize  them  "  because  they  are  babes,"  "  because 
they  are  infants."  They,  with  regard  to  an  ordin- 
ance of  Christ's  spiritual  kingdom,  make  a  physical 
circumstance  a  disqualification.  When,  therefore, 
there  is  in  the  scriptures  no  such  disquahfication, 
why  do  they  of  their  own  will  establish  it?  In 
other  words,  why  do  they  limit  the  universality  of 
the  ordinance  by  a  condition  they  cannot  find 
limiting  it  in  holy  writ?  This  is  a  question  of 
importance,  and  we  shall  try  in  this  chapter  to 
answer  it. 


60  MERCY  TO  BASES. 

Now,  in  proceeding  lo  this  question,  we  shall 
ask  another;  we  shall,  as  we  have  promised  at  the 
commencement  of  this  treatise,  put  aside  the  dis- 
cussions of  professed  theologians  and  champions 
of  sect,  and  ask  of  ordinary  men  and  women,  upon 
this  or  other  points,  what  is  the  first  thing  that 
suggests  itself  to  the  plain  Christian  of  common 
sense,  who  is  interested  in  this  thing,  to  the  father 
or  the  mother  who  has  an  infant  child,  which 
some,  in  whom  he  places  confidence,  good  and 
pious  men  of  clear  and  honest  minds,  would  per- 
suade him  to  have  baptized,  and  others,  in  his 
estimation  equally  good  and  honest,  of  equally 
sound  mind,  would  persuade  him  not  to  have 
baptized  ?  What  is  the  question,  that  in  such  a 
case,  would  the  most  naturally  arise  to  the  mind 
of  such  a  one? 

Surely  it  is  this,  "What  advantage  is  baptism 
to  the  infant?  What  advantage  in  a  Spiritual,  a 
Moral,  and  a  Social  point  of  view  ? 

These  then  embrace  the  whole  question  upon 
which  the  matter  is  really  in  such  a  case  decided 
— the  Spiritual,  the  Moral,  the  Social  advantage. 

And  fairly  and  justly  we  may  conclude,  that 
each  and  every  act  of  religion  has  its  advantages 
in  these  three  wa^^s,  and  that  to  show  them  is  to 
show  the  use  and  advantages  of  the  act,  whatever 
it  is.  The  spiritual  benefits  of  any  act  are  evidenced 
from  the  holy  scriptures.  The  moral  from  its  in- 
fluence upon  the  moral  nature  of  man,  and  the 
social  by  its  operation  for  his  social  good.  Let  this 
question  then  be  answered  in  the  affirmative— -let 


Meucy  to  babes.  61 

It  be  shown  that  the  baptism  of  infants  has  such 
advantages  connected  with  it,  and  what  they  are, 
and  at  once  the  question  is  decided. 

We  have  had  many  books  for,  and  many  books 
against  the  baptism  of  infants,  and  we  have  felt 
that  herein  lay  their  deficiency.  They  omit  this 
question  altogether,  "  What  is  the  good  of  infant 
baptism  ?  " 

They  argue  dryly  upon  words  and  texts — they 
argue  as  if  they  had  no  hearts,  and  their  readers, 
men  and  women,  lathers  and  mothers,  had  no 
affections  ;  as  if  there  were  no  such  thing  as  human 
nature  in  the  world;  no  such  thing  as  a  spiritual 
world,  of  which  Christ  our  Lord  is  King,  and  we 
his  subjects,  recipients  of  spiritual  blessing ;  no 
such  thing  as  a  religious  influence  of  Christianity 
upon  morals  and  life,  or  a  course  of  God's  provi- 
dence ruling  and  guiding  the  world  for  the  sake 
of  religion;  and,  therefore,  to  men  and  women  that 
have  a  practical  and  real  interest  in  the  question, 
these  books  on  the  one  side  and  the  other,  are  dry 
and  without  interest ;  they  do  not  touch  the  question 
that  should  be  put  in  the  forefront  of  the  examina- 
tion— the  question  we  have  specified.  We  put  this 
question  in  its  proper  place — the  ver}'  front  of  the 
inquiry. 

And  the  proper  answering  of  this  question  will 
enable  us  to  answer  another,  set  forth  at  the  com- 
mencement of  this  chapter,  "  Why  do  3^ou  not  bap- 
tize babes  ?  "  Honest  Baptists  may  argue  and 
debate,  but  when  they  come  to  examine  their 
motives,  this  they  will  find  lies  at  the  bottom — 


62  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

"  we  see  no  use  in  baptism  as  applied  to  babe?.'* 
They  will  tell  us  that  they  see  a  manifest  use  as 
applied  to  adults,  but  as  applied  to  babes  they  can 
see  none. 

Now  this  is  the  vital  point  at  issue  ;  this  of  the 
uses  of  baptism  in  general,  and  we  ask  them  what 
are  its  uses  ?  why  do  you  baptize,  or  why  are  you 
baptized?  "The  uses?  why  it  is  the  scripture 
form  of  profession  of  faith,  and  no  more — it  has  no 
grace  attached  to  it,  no  power,  no  influence  ;  and 
the  reason  we  do  it  is,  that  it  is  a  commanded 
ordinance." 

Now  we  put  it  to  the  candid  and  fair  man, 
whether  these  sentiments  do  not  fairly  represent 
the  opinion  of  the  mass  of  ordinary  Christians  upon 
the  point  of  baptism.  We  put  it  to  them  also, 
whether  one  holding  these  sentiments  must  not, 
because  of  his  holding  them,  quite  irrespective  of 
the  scriptures,  deny  all  baptism  of  infants ;  for 
surely  if  baptism  be  of  no  force,  or  efficacy,  or 
power,  but  only  a  form  of  profession,  infants  cannot 
be  benefited  by  it,  or  make  or  consent  to  it ;  if 
there  is  no  use  in  it,  and  we  do  it  only  because 
commanded,  &c. 

Now,  as  before  said,  we  speak  to  the  Christian 
with  the  bible  in  his  hand,  and  the  means  of  ready 
reference  to  its  parts,  and  we  assert  boldh^  that 
of  these  two  sentiments — first,  "  That  baptism  is 
merely  a  form  of  profession  without  any  advantages, 
spiritual,  moral,  or  social,  attached  to  it;"  and 
second!}',  *'  That  we  are  baptized  mainly  or  merely 
because  it  is  a  commanded  ordmance,"  that  there 


MERCy  TO  BABES.  63 

is  not  such  an  assertion  in  the  scriptures — it  can- 
not be  brought  forward. 

Why  then  do  men  not  baptize  infants?  Simply 
because  these  two  sentiments  are  in  their  minds 
when  they  come  to  the  examination  of  the  scrip- 
tures— they  are  preached  and  repeated  until  they 
are  beheved;  and  they  hide  away  from  men's 
minds  the  description  of  baptism  given  by  the 
scriptures.  They  make  the  baptism  of  adults  a 
mere  form  of  profession — they  do  away  the  bap- 
tism of  infants  altogether. 

We  deny  that  these  sentiments  are  in  the  scrip- 
tures ;  furthermore,  we  assert  they  are  anti-scrip- 
tural. When  we  ask  Christians,  Why  are  you  bap- 
tized? they  answer,  *'  Because  it  is  a  commanded 
ordinance."  So  this  is  the  reason — the  sole  reason. 
Does  God  put  it  so?  Does  our  most  blessed  Lord 
command,  without  giving  any  other  reason  than 
his  command?  Under  the  new  spiritual  law,  are 
Christians  gone  back  so  far  into  the  gloom  of 
Jewish  ordinances,  that  any  practice  enjoined  upon 
Christians  shall  be  put  solely  upon  the  command 
without  any  benefit,  spiritual,  or  moral,  or  social, 
attached  to  it  ?  Surely  when  we  think  that  Christ 
instead  of  the  mass  of  ceremonies,  rites,  and  sacri- 
fices, instituted  but  two  sacraments,  it  must  seem 
to  the  Christian  a  most  unworthy  supposition  to 
imagine  that  the  two  institutions  of  the  spiritual 
kingdom  have  no  spiritual  blessings,  but  are  as  the 
Jewish  rites,  forms,  and  mere  forms,  to  be  per- 
formed only  because  commanded.  We  assert,  that 
these   sentiments  are  not  only  not  to  be  found  in 


64  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

the  scriptures,  but  untrue  and  derogatory  to  the 
dignity  and  truth  of  the  Gospel. 

And  for  this  assertion  of  ours  we  do  not  demand 
our  mere  word  to  be  taken.  We  say  that  in  the 
scriptures  baptism  has  clear  and  definite  descrip- 
tion given  of  its  uses,  ends,  meaning,  and  purposes ; 
so  clear,  that  to  assert  that  it  is  a  mere  form  of 
profession,  or  to  put  it  upon  the  command,  is 
neither  more  nor  less  than  to  substitute  the  opinions 
of  men  for  the  words  of  God ;  to  make  void  the 
commandments  of  Christ  by  our  tradition,  and  to 
annul  his  word.  We  assert  too,  what  no  Christian 
can  deny,  that  if  we  wish  to  know  what  are  God's 
ordinances  and  their  uses,  we  must  go  for  the 
description  to  the  scriptures  themselves.  One  word 
of  the  holy  scriptures  is  worth  all  the  notions  and 
theories  of  men.  W^e  shall  bring  up,  therefore,  the 
scripture  descriptions  of  baptism,  both  as  a  proof 
of  what  we  have  asserted  as  to  the  unfairness  of 
these  two  sentiments  we  have  censured,  and  as  a 
declaration  in  the  literal  words  of  what  we  believe 
upon  the  point. 

We  know  that  a  multitude  of  well  meaning  and 
good  men,  are  so  besotted  with  these  opinions 
above  mentioned,  that  rather  than  give  them  up, 
they  will  evade  the  plain  words  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles,  regarding  his  own  ordinances;  nay,  as 
we  have  known,  they  will  deny  the  words  of  our 
Lord,  at  the  same  time  they  quote  them,  rather 
than  give  up  the  tradition  of  sect.  And  we  pray 
God  to  forgive  them  this  their  sin  of  ignorance  and 
of  position.     Still  the  scripture  is  ever  the  same ; 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  65 

it  and  its  interpretation  shall  survive  all  the  notions 
of  those  who  have  misinterpreted  it.  And  of  this, 
his  own  ordinance,  the  description  he  has  given  of 
its  uses,  ends,  and  purposes,  shall  be  believ(^d 
according  to  their  plain  literal  meaning,  although 
now  they  may  be  obscured  in  men's  minds  by 
these  two  notions. 

And  for  ourselves,  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel, 
we  shall  never  attribute  less  to  any  fact  or  prin- 
ciple, than  he  has  attributed  to  it  himself;  we  shall 
never  argue  upon  grounds  that  are  inadequate,  or 
adopt  for  our  own,  principles  that  come  not  up  to 
the  fulness  of  the  Gospel  we  have  received  ;  nor 
will  we  attribute  so  little  power  to  the  holy  scrip- 
tures, and  so  little  considerateness  or  candor  to 
men,  as  to  believe  that  none  of  those  who  have 
been  in  error  will  reconsider  their  opmions,  or  take 
the  plain  words  of  God  in  their  literal  and  manifest 
sense,  instead  of  the  theories  of  men. 

And  this  we  say,  with  the  fact  broadly  before 
our  e^^es,  as  to  the  prevalence  of  the  opinions  we 
reprobate.  With  the  knowledge,  how  strange  to 
take  the  words  of  the  scripture  as  they  stand  will 
appear  to  men.  We  do  believe,  in  despite  of  these 
things,  that  many  will  bethink  themselves,  re- 
consider their  opinions,  and  come  to  see  the  truth. 

We  shall,  therefore,  place  the  passages  that 
describe  baptism  in  the  bible  together. 

*'  He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be 
saved."     (Mark  xvi.  16.) 

"  The  like  figure  whereunto,  even  baptism, 
doth  now  save  us,  (not  the  putting  away  the  filth  of 


66  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

the   flesh,)  but  the   answer  of  a  pure  conscience 
before  God."     (1  Peter  iii.  21.) 

"  Ye  are  buried  with  Christ  by  baptism,  where- 
in also  ye  are  risen  with  him  through  the  faith  of 
the  operation  of  God,  who  hath  raised  him  from 
the  dead."     (Col.  ii.  12.) 

"  As  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus 
Christ  were  baptized  into  his  death  ;  therefore  we 
are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death  ;  that 
like  as  Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead,  even  so 
should  we  walk  in  newness  of  life."  (Rom.  vi. 
3,  4.) 

'*  As  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into 
Christ,  have  put  on  Christ."     (Gal.  iii.  27.) 

"  By  one  Spirit  we  have  been  baptized  into  one 
body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  bond  or 
free."     (1  Cor.  xii.  13.) 

"  Peter  said.  Repent,  and  be  baptized,  every 
one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the 
remission  of  sins."     (Acts  ii.  38.) 

"  Ananias  said  unto  Saul,  why  tarriest  thou  ? 
arise,  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord."     (Acts  xxii.  16.) 

*'  He  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration, 
and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."     (Titus  iii.  5.) 

"Jesus  said,  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water 
and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."     (John  iii.  5.) 

In  Hebrews  vi.  1,  the  doctrine  of  baptism  is 
one  of  the  first  principles  of  the  Gospel,  along  with 
faith,  repentance,  laying  on  of  hands,  resurrection 
from  the  dead,  and  eternal  judgment. 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  67 

We  address  not  those  who  deny  water  baptism, 
but  those  who,  admitting  the  necessity  of  water, 
doubt  or  deny  the  validity  of  the  baptism  of  infants ; 
and  we  ask  them  to  look  at  these  texts,  just  as  they 
stand;  to  think  upon  them  as  the  words  of  the 
Holy  Spirit;  are  these  of  a  piece  with  the  sentiment 
that  says,  "  baptism  is  a  form  of  profession  and 
nothing  more?"  or,  "  that  we  are  baptized  only 
because  it  is  a  commanded  ordmance?  "  or  rather, 
are  not  various  effects  attributed  here  to  baptism, 
when  received  by  living  faith,  following  upon  re- 
pentance ?  effects  which  wholly  contradict  the  sen- 
timents of  ordinary  Christians  upon  the  point? 

Surely  every  Christian  must  admit,  that  it  is 
as  we  say,  that  these  texts,  taken  honestly,  as  they 
stand,  in  the  Uterdl  sense,  ascribe \pecific  effects 
to  the  ordinance. 

We  shall  go  a  little  further;  we  say,  that  with 
their  notions  and  their  doctrines,  ordinar}'  Christians 
dare  not  use  these  texts  as  they  use  the  rest  of  the 
scriptures.  When  the  cry  arises  from  one  or  many, 
*'  What  shall  we  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  dare  they  say 
as  Peter,  "  Repent,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of 
you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  for  the  remission 
of  sinsl  " — dare  they  say,  as  Ananias  to  the  repent- 
ant Saul,  *'  Arise,  and  he  baptized,  and  wash  aivay  thy 
sins,  calling  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord?" — dare 
they  say,  "  We  are  saved  by  baptism,"  or,  "  we 
are  buried  with  Christ  by  baptism,"  or,  "he  that 
believeth  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved?"  or  can 
they  use  the  words,  "  Except  ye  be  born  of  water 


68  MERCT  TO  BABES. 

and  the  Spirit,  ye  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven?" 

Certainly  not ;  these  texts  ordinary  professors 
dare  not  use  as  they  stand,  in  the  plain  literal  sense 
of  them  ;  they  dare  not  use  them,  or  even  think  of 
them,  without  some  salvo,  some  limitation,  actually 
doing  away  the  whole  sense  of  the  words.  And 
their  preachers  preach  not  upon  them,  except  for 
the  purpose  of  doing  away  with  their  force,  and 
proving  that  they  mean  nothing. 

Is  not  this  true,  and  does  it  not  betoken  some- 
thing wrong  in  the  whole  state  of  ordinary  religion, 
that  men  should  shrink  back  from  the  plain  literal 
sense  of  God's  words,  and  do  it  away,  because 
they  cannot  bear  with  it?  I  ask  the  honest  and 
candid  inquirer  to  look  at  this  fact,  not  to  shrink 
back  as  men  do  sometimes,  from  truths,  unpleasant 
and  unsuitable,  but  to  face  it,  and  ask  himself,  is 
it  not  so  with  him?  and  then  I  ask  him  to  go  back 
to  these  notions  I  have  above  specified,  and  to  see 
whether  they  are  not  his  motives ;  to  examine  them 
by  the  scriptures,  and  to  cast  them  aside. 

But  the  reader  wdll  sa}^,  who  believes  them  as 
they  stand,  without  any  salvo,  in  the  plain  evident 
sense  of  them?  who  believes  that  baptism  is  for 
the  remission  of  sins?  who  believes  that  it  is  a 
saving  ordinance  ?  who  believes  that  we  are  buried 
-with  him  by  baptism ;  or  that  therein  we  are  born 
of  water  and  the  Spirit  ? 

The  reader  wdll  remember  that  I  am  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Episcopal  Church,   and  that  I  come 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  69 

before  him  in  no  disguise  of  affected  candor,  word, 
liberality,  or  monk-meekness,  but  as  what  I  am,  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church,  and  as  such  I  say  I  do. 
I  say,  moreover,  that  it  would  seem  by  the  next 
paragraph,  that  as  a  clergyman  of  the  Church,  I 
must  be  either  very  dishonest,  very  stupid,  or  very 
much  influenced  by  prejudice,  if  I  do  not,  owing  to 
the  book  we  use,  take  these  in  the  literal  and 
manifest  sense. 

When  I  CHtechise  children,  I  ask  them,  *'  Who 
gave  you  your  name?"  and  they  reply,  *«  My 
sponsors  in  baptism,  wherein  I  was  made  a  member 
of  Christ,  a  child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.'*  An  answer  manifestly  con- 
sistent with  the  literal  sense  of  these  texts ;  mani- 
festly inconsistent  with  the  other  notions.  In  the 
service  for  baptism,  of  infants  or  aduhs  after  bap- 
tism, I  declare  to  them,  "that  they  are  now  born 
again,  and  made  heirs  of  everlasting  life."  Or  in 
that  of  adults,  "  that  these  'persons  are  regenerate 
and  grafted  into  the  body  of  Christ's  Church."  In 
a  solemn  prayer  before  the  whole  congregation,  I 
implore  God  to  give  the  holy  Spirit,  *'  that  these 
persons,  being  born  again  and  made  heirs  of  ever- 
lasting salvation,  may  continue  his  servants."  And 
likewise  I  apply  most  plainly  the  passage  in  St. 
Peter,  asserting  <'  baptism  to  be  a  saving  ordin- 
ance." And,  lastly,  in  the  solemn  creed,  in  which 
both  minister  and  people,  with  one  voice  together, 
confess  upon  the  days  of  communion,  I  plainly 
declare  myself  to  believe  "  in  one  baptism  for  the 


70  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

remission  of  sins."  What  were  I  then  if  I  did  not 
believe  in  the  above  quoted  texts  literally  taken? 

This  is  the  case  with  the  twelve  hundred  clergy 
of  the  Church  in  this  country ;  the  eighteen  thou- 
sand of  the  English  Church.  And  this,  I  will  say, 
before  Luther  was,  was  the  opinion  of  the  Church 
from  Christ  downward ;  and  more  than  this,  the 
ordinary  common  sense  man,  when  he  comes  to 
think  of  it,  will  see  is  the  plain  doctrine  of  the 
scriptures. 

1  am  aware  that  to  many  candid  and  sincere 
searchers  after  the  truth  as  it  is  in  our  blessed 
Lord  Jesus,  the  assertion  w^ill  seem  most  startling, 
and  the  first  thought  that  will  arise  in  their  mind, 
will  be  that  of  Nicodemus  on  the  same  subject, 
*' how"  can  these  things  be  !  "  To  such  persons  I 
say,  I  seek  not  to  force  upon  your  mind  the  doctrine 
to  which  you  see  I  assent,  and  in  which  I  believe, 
even  although  I  believe  that  I  have  for  it  stronger 
evidence,  for  I  know  the  power  of  previous  educa- 
tion; I  know  the  force  of  circumstances  ;  only  these 
two  things  I  ask,  first,  not  to  think  a  doctrine  strange 
which  has  in  its  favor  the  united  belief  of  so  many 
Christian  clergy  and  people,  and  the  literal  sense 
of  holy  writ,  but  to  consider  it  at  least  worthy  of 
examination  and  consideration  ;  and,  secondly,  to 
go  on  with  me  and  see  "how  these  things  can  be  ; " 
and  whether  they  are  in  accordance  with  the 
spiritual,  the  moral,  and  the  providential  govern- 
ment of  God  over  man  in  this  world. 

The  doctrine  then,  which  I  say,  is  the  doctrine 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  71 

of  the  scriptures  upon  this  matter,  and  most  plainly 
the  doctrine  of  the  texts  that  I  have  quoted,  is  this, 
that  in  baptism  received  upon  repentance  with 
living  faith,  we  '*  are  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit." 
And  this  embraces  the  following  consequences : — 
1st.  The  remission  of  sins.  2dly.  The  being  intro- 
duced into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  that  is,  the 
Church  of  God.  3dly.  The  gift  of  sufficient  grace. 
4thly.  The  dwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  us.  5lhly. 
The  mystical  union  of  Christ  our  Lord  with  man, 
whereby  we  are  made  partakers  of  his  life  and 
resurrection — power.  And,  6thly.  That  the  bap- 
tized are  in  the  communion  of  saints,  having  a 
participation  in  all  the  prayers  and  spiritual  bless- 
ings of  the  holy  on  earth,  and  the  holy  departed ; 
and  also  are  under  the  immediate  guardianship 
and  care  of  the  holy  angels,  whereby  he  ministers 
to  them  that  love  him. 

All  these  gifts  a^e  to  him  who,  being  of  mature 
years,  received  baptism  in  faith,  or  to  the  helpless 
and  innocent  babe,  gifts  conveyed  through  God's 
grace,  by  his  sacrament  of  baptism.  If  this  be  a 
true  statement,  are  there  not  reasons  enough  for 
the  baptism  of  infants  as  well  as  those  of  maturer 
years  ?  Is  it  not  sufficiently  manifest,  that  the  for- 
getting these  truths  is  the  reason  why  infants  are 
not  baptized  ? 

And  that  as  I  have  declared  in  the  first  part  of 
this  chapter,  that  the  natural  question  that  arises 
to  the  minds  of  men,  and  that  upon  which  it  is 
decided,  is.  What  are  the  advantages  and  uses  of 
baptism  in  general?    and  then  the  mind  for  itself 


72  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

decides  upon  the  particular  case  of  infant  baptism  ; 
so  the  proper  method  of  deciding,  is  to  examine 
the  doctrine  of  baptism  in  general.  I  propose, 
therefore,  in  the  following  chapter,  to  ask  how  can 
these  these  things  be  ?  To  take  the  system  of  the 
Gospel,  and  see  how  far  they  agree  with  it. 


CHAPTER   II. 


PART  11. 


How  can  these  things  be 


We  begin  this  chapter  with  an  assertion  which  no 
one  that  has  read  the  scriptures  can  doubt ;  that 
from  the  first  time  that  God  revealed  himself  to 
man  to  the  present  time,  his  dealings  have  been 
uniform,  of  a  piece  one  with  another.  And  it  is 
because  of  this  uniformity,  that  we  receive  the  Old 
as  well  as  the  New  Testament.  The  Christian  does 
not  reject  the  Old  Testament,  he  sees  that  the  same 
God  who  has  once  for  all  revealed  himself  in  Jesus 
Christ,  revealed  himself  to  Abraham  and  the  patri- 
archs, after  that  to  Moses,  and  then  to  us.  As  to 
degree,  the  dispensations  differ ;  as  to  the  mode 
and  manner,  these  are  uniform. 

Now  the  common  mode,  what  is  it  ?  Every  one 
will  say,  the  mode  of  covenants.  There  are,  says 
the  holy  apostle  Paul,  two  covenants,  *'  the  one 
from  Mount  Sinai,  which  genderelh  to  bondage  ;  " 
again,  *'  Jesus  the  mediator  of  the  new  covenant;" 
and  a  hundred  other  passages  which  might  be 
quoted,  all  testifying  to  the  same  thing.  The  two 
4 


74  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

dispensations  then,  have  been  two  covenants.  The 
new  dispensation  is  just  as  much  a  covenant  as 
the  old. 

Now  let  us  look  at  this  fact  a  little  more  dis- 
tinctly, and  try  to  settle  in  our  mind  what  it  means. 
The  curse  and  plague  of  religion  in  this  age  is, 
that  we  have  so  habituated  ourselves  to  metaphor, 
that  every  thing  has  become  a  metaphor.  A  man 
takes  Dr.  Watt's  paper,  called  a  form  of  covenant, 
he  writes  it  down,  solemnly  prays  over  it,  and  in 
its  form  he  calls  that  a  covenant  with  God.  It  is 
a  vow,  a  series  of  good  resolutions,  7io  covenant  with 
God.  A  very  respectable  denomination  has  a  right 
of  meeting  yearly,  in  which  they  read  a  series  of 
good  resolutions,  in  which  every  one  present  is 
supposed  to  join ;  this  is  called  "  the  renewal  of 
the  covenant" — metaphor  again.  A  man  is  con- 
vinced of  sin,  he  promises  in  his  heart  obedience  to 
God,  this  is  called  a  covenant  with  himself — these 
are  metaphors.  The  scripture  meaning  of  the  word 
covenant  is  lost  by  our  metaphoric  talk.  It  has 
slidden  away  into  vagueness,  and  become  a  mere 
phrase.     Surely  it  has  been  so. 

The  fact  that  there  is  a  covenant  in  the  Christian 
dispensation  between  God  and  man,  has  come  to 
have  very  little  belief  given  it ;  men  talk  about  it, 
they  do  not  realize  the  fulness  of  its  meaning. 

Now  let  us  cast  aside  these  metaphoric  notions, 
and  remembering  that  a  promise  or  vow  binds 
only  one  party,  and  is  not  a  "  covenant,"  but  that 
on  the  contrary,  a  covenant  is  binding  upon  two : 
let  us  look  at  the  fact,  and  we  shall  find  it  one  of 


MERCY   TO  BABES.  76 

astounding  magnitude,  and  over-powering  to  the 
intellect,  as  well  as  the  feelings  of  man.  Here  am 
I,  a  creature  of  yesterday,  frail  and  feeble,  limited 
in  power  and  knowledge,  impure  and  unhol}^,  my 
position  as  well  as  my  nature  leading  me  to  evil ; 
and  on  the  other  side  is  the  Almighty  and  Omni- 
scient, the  Lord  of  the  universe,  the  Creator  and 
Ruler  of  all,  pure  and  holy,  and  between  me  and 
him  there  can  be  a  covenant,  an  agreement  binding 
both  parties. 

By  virtue  of  this,  the  Omniscient  shall  consult 
for  wie,  and  from  the  fathomless  abyss  of  boundless 
wisdom  he  shall  provide  for  me;  by  virtue  of  this, 
the  web  of  circumstance,  that  is  woven  in  the  loom 
of  time,  shall  be  so  arranged,  each  circumstance 
that  came  in  contact  with  me,  as  to  favor  me,  the 
rain  shall  descend,  but  as  he  will,  ^ovmij  good,  and 
all  nature  be  modified  to  benefit  me.  I  ask,  is  not 
this  an  overpowering  idea,  is  it  not  one,  which 
from  its  very  magnitude,  is  startling  and  astounding 
to  man. 

And  at  the  same  time  it  is  the  very  foundation 
and  basis  of  the  Gospel,  and  yet  who  sufficiently 
realizes  it  at  the  present  day?  It  has,  as  it  were, 
slipped  away  from  the  minds  of  men  ;  it  has  almost 
perished  from  religion.  Our  own  covenants  with 
ourselves,  covenants  to  act  so  and  so,  covenants 
with  religious  societies  or  churches,  as  they  are 
called,  or  mere  mental  resolutions  to  adhere  to 
God ;  all  these  metaphoric  things  have  slipped  in, 
they  have  obscured  the  true  covenant,  the  fact  of  a 
real  agreement  between  God   and   man,  binding 


76  MERCY  TO  BABK&. 

both  parties,  which,  if  we  may  use  the  expression, 
is  the  landamental  part  of  Christianity. 

The  truth  of  this  assertion  may  be  seen  by  a 
comparison.  We  know  that  infidelity  is  the  pre- 
vailing curse  of  this  country,  which  is  called  a 
Christian  country.  There  are  a  large  mass  of  men 
called  unprofessors,  who  have  no  belief  in  the  facts 
of  the  Gospel.  And  among  those  called  Christians, 
every  sect  denies,  or  disputes,  or  doubts,  something 
or  other.  I  speak  not  of  faith  here,  but  of  bare 
belief — belief  is  unfrequent.  What  is  the  reason 
of  this  ?  We  have  forgotten  the  fact  of  a  true  and 
real  covenant  between  God  and  man. 

Now  taking  the  Jews  as  a  people  under  a 
covenant,  we  find  hardly  such  a  thing  among  them 
as  this,  we  call  infidelity  or  want  of  belief.  Ex- 
cepting the  case  of  the  Sadducees,  and  they  hardly 
can  come  within  the  rule,  for  they  only  disbelieved 
in  those  things  not  manifestly  revealed  in  them; 
they  were  also  few  in  numbers,  and  rather  a  poli- 
tical faction  than  a  religious  sect.  With  the  Jews 
belief  did  not  come  with  the  worst  of  times,  or  in 
the  worst  of  men.  They  ever  knew  that  they  were 
God's  covenanted  people,  each  of  them  ever  ac- 
knowdedged  that  he  was  under  that  covenant.  His 
passions  might  lead  him  astray  after  the  gods  of 
the  heathen,  and  the  orgies  of  licentiousness  and 
vice  that  always  attended  their  religious  worship. 
Their  own  stubbornness  and  obstinacy  might  lead 
them  to  rebel  against  the  yoke  under  which  they 
were,  still  belief  in  the  facts  and  truths  of  the 
Mosaic  revelation  always  existed,  and  if  men  sin- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  77 

ned,  it  was  against  that  belief.  Belief  was  im- 
pressed upon  the  minds  of  all  the  Hebrew  nation. 
Now  let  us  see  what  kept  up  this  belief  in  the 
facts  of  revelation.  The  realization  of  the  fact  of  a 
covenant.  This  one  idea  passed  through  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life  manward  as  well  as  Godward.  What 
was  the  circumcision  of  all  the  children  but  the  evi- 
dence of  that  covenant?  sacrifice,  but  the  keeping 
it  before  his  mind  ?  If  you  examine  the  life  of  a  few 
under  the  old  law,  you  will  find  that  all  circumstan- 
ces, however  manifold,  served  to  impress  the  one 
idea  upon  him,  that  man  was  bound  unto  God^  and  God 
unto  man,  really  and  truly.  Was  he  at  Jerusalem, 
the  capital  of  the  nation,  then  the  awful  temple 
with  its  services,  was  an  embodyment  of  the  idea, 
that  God  was  bound  unto  man.  The  Jew  could 
look  up  to  its  gorgeous  and  splendid  buildings, 
absurd  and  foolish  upon  any  other  idea  than  that 
its  builder  felt  that  covenant  to  be  a  reality  more 
precious  than  the  precious  stone,  and  would  prolong 
the  feeling  to  future  ages ;  and  the  Hebrew,  looking 
upon  it,  felt  that  it  was  more  precious  than  gold, 
and  marble,  and  cedar,  and  jewels,  and  the  skill 
of  the  workmen,  and  the  wealth  of  kings.  The 
daily  sacrifice  brought  the  same  idea  close  home 
to  his  ordinary  life,  and  the  high  and  solemn  fes- 
tival made  it  a  part  of  those  extraordinary  over- 
flowings of  joy,  that  are  so  natural  to  the  heart  of 
man,  that  if  they  are  not  instituted  for  him,  he  will 
institute  them  for  himself.  So  the  fasts,  the  stated 
seasons  of  sorrow,  equally  natural,  in  like  manner, 
presented  the  same  idea.     In  his  polity  too,  it  was 


78  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

most  thoroughly  interwoven,  and  stood  out  in  the 
foreground  of  his  history.  No  fabled  hero  obscurely 
seen  through  the  darkness  of  the  past,  was  the 
founder  of  his  race ;  no  robber  chieftain,  glorified 
by  legendary  ballads,  was  his  progenitor.  No; 
in  the  clear  light,  light  of  history,  stood  forth  in 
its  minutest  circumstances,  the  covenant  of  Abra- 
ham, his  ancestor,  by  the  oaks  of  Mamre.  The 
past  of  the  Jew  was  historical,  not  legendary  or 
fabulous. 

The  covenant  too,  was  united,  as  we  may  see 
in  the  books  of  Moses  with  all  the  affections  of  his 
heart,  with  paternal  reverence  to  parents,  with  love 
to  family,  nay,  with  the  natural  benevolence  that  is 
in  the  heart  of  man.  He  was  to  pity  the  stranger, 
"because  thou  wast  a  stranger  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 
and  I  brought  thee  forth,  not  because  thou  wast 
great,  for  thou  wast  the  meanest  of  nations,  but 
for  Abraham  my  servant's  sake,  and  mij  covenant 
with  him."  And,  furthermore,  the  Jews  personal 
services,  these  all  tended  to  the  same  thing,  to  the 
impressing  on  his  mind  the  wonderful  fact  of  the 
covenant  between  God  and  man. 

Now,  in  view  of  all  these  things,  this  fact,  so 
wonderful,  so  extraordinary,  so  likely  to  shock 
belief,  could  not  but  be  believed  by  the  Jews.  In 
fact,  he  could  not  escape  from  a  conviction  of  its 
truth.  Pride,  or  passion,  or  sensuality,  or  that 
brutish  stubbornness,  so  natural  to  the  race,  with 
which  God  rebuked  them  of  old,  might  cause  the 
Israelite  to  rebel,  still,  by  this,  his  action  must  be 
against  his  belief,  against  the  ineffaceable  convic- 


MERCY   TO  BABES,  79 

tions  of  his  whole  life.     We  see  that  what  w^e  call 
an  infidel — the  Jew  could  not  be. 

With  this  state  of  matters,  contrast  the  state  of 
Christianity  at  the  present  day — Christianity  being 
the  new  covenant;  look  at  this  weak,  sluggish  mass 
of  inconsistent  sects  which,  by  the  complaisant 
politeness  of  the  world,  is  denominated  Christianity, 
and  wherein  is  its  weakness?  in  this,  that  the  idea 
of  a  covenant,  acttial  and  real^  has  perished,  and  a 
metaphor  has  taken  its  place.  I  have  asked  pro- 
fessors of  religion :  have  they  the  certainty  of  belief, 
the  same  confidence  of  faith,  in  their  ov/n  position, 
that  the  old  Jews  had?  Certainly  they  have  not, 
for  but  few  of  those  called  orthodox,  but  will  allow 
that  other  sects,  as  opposite  as  may  be  to  them, 
are  just  as  certain.  Have  they  the  belief  in  the 
facts  of  the  scripture  ?  No  :  when  the  common 
articles  are  counted,  they  are  but  few  in  number, 
amounting  to  little  more  than  what  is  called  natural 
religion.  And  what  is  the  reason,  this  one,  that  to 
the  old  Jews,  the  "  Church  in  the  wilderness,"  as 
St.  Paul  calls  it,  the  one  idea  of  a  covenant,  a  true 
and  real  covenant  between  God  and  man  belonged, 
but  now  it  has  perished  out  of  the  ordinary  religion. 
External  circumstances  all  presented  that  one  idea 
to  them  ;  the  mind  could  not  escape  it,  it  was 
forced  in  upon  the  mind  by  the  concurrent  testi- 
mony of  all  circumstances  from  earliest  3^outh  to 
extremest  age.  And  now  for  the  want  of  that  one 
idea,  forming  and  moulding  all  circumstances  to 
itself,  external  circumstances  all  tend  to  unbelief. 
That  idea  of  a  covenant  is  essentially  in  its  result 


80  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

the  idea  of  unity.  Now  the  very  aspect  of  a  sect- 
rent  Christianity  is  an  argument  to  unbelief.  And 
Christians  themselves,  instead  of  having  the  out- 
ward world  of  man  as  an  evidence  to  the  faith, 
have  it  as  an  evidence  against  it.  They  are  flung 
inwardly  upon  their  feelings,  and  this  again  tends 
to  unbelief,  for  the  wise  and  the  thoughtful  all  over 
the  country  are  rapidly  coming  to  the  conclusion, 
that  feeling  is  no  test  of  truth,  and  so  all  things 
tend  to  unbelief.  This,  no  matter  what  men  may 
say,  is  the  true  source  and  origin  of  infidelity. 

So  belief  among  the  multitude  of  non-professors 
is  gone.  If  they  had  belief  in  the  facts  of  the 
Gospel,  as  the  rebellious  Israelite  had  in  the  facts 
of  Moses'  law,  because  of  the  covenant  and  the 
way  outward  things  impressed  it  upon  him  ;  as  the 
English  peasant  and  artizan  had,  because  of  the 
same  fact,  upheld  by  the  working  of  a  liturgy 
weekly  used  ;  as  the  rude  Russian  serf  has,  be- 
cause of  the  services  of  his  Church  ;  a  stand  could 
be  taken  and  a  foundation  made  for  faith  upon  that 
belief;  but  now  that  belief  is  fast  going,  or  already 
gone.  True  it  is,  that  some  time  ago,  there  was  a 
lingering  belief  in  the  fact  of  eternal  punishments 
for  the  wicked,  so  plainly  asserted  in  the  scripture  ; 
for  the  stream  of  a  nation's  life  precipitates  but 
slowly  the  truth  of  revelation  that  ages  of  faith 
have  infused  into  it ;  just  as  the  particles  of  land  in 
the  Mississippi,  will,  by  the  Missouri,  not  fall  to  the 
bottom  for  hundreds  of  miles  below  their  confluence. 
But  men  who  were  preachers  took  their  stand 
upon  this,  the  last  element  of  Christianity,  in  a 


MERCY   TO  BABES.  81 

fierce  and  cruelly  presumptuous  manner,  and  where 
is  it  now  ?  It  is  gone.  I  err  not  when  I  say,  that 
from  the  mass  of  non-professors  minds  it  has  van- 
ished ;  that  of  the  great  majority  of  non-professors, 
this,  the  last  tradition  of  Christianity,  the  time 
when  men  really  and  truly  believed  in  a  covenant 
with  God,  has  vanished. 

Professors  of  religion  under  the  banner  of  a 
sect-rent  Christianity  !  preachers  of  a  multifarious 
Christianity,  perishing  every  day,  here  is  your 
weakness — the  want  of  a  fast  and  firm  persuasion 
in  a  true  and  real  covenant  between  God  and  man! 
a  want  that  cannot  be  supplied  by  cart-loads  of 
evidences  of  Christianity,  or  the  fiercest  invectives 
against  infidels.  You  have  made  the  gap  yourselves. 

From  John  Calvin,  who  invented  as  a  substitute, 
the  idea  of  an  invisible  Church,  such  an  idea  is 
your  abhorrence.  For  a  covenant  between  God 
and  man  implies  unity,  it  implies  one  visible  cove- 
nanted hody^  a  Cfmrch,  co-extensive  with  the  pro- 
fession of  Christianity  ;  and  it  is  because  of  this 
oneness  and  extensiveness,  that  outward  circum- 
stances are  so  arranged  as  to  impress  the  mind 
with  belief,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Jewish  Church, 
which  I  have  instanced. 

However,  as  this  is  the  effect  of  the  circum- 
stance outwardly,  we  shall  go  to  consider  the  effect 
upon  the  mind  of  man  inwardly.  The  first  mani- 
fest effect  upon  the  minds  of  all  is  belief,  befief  in 
the  facts  of  the  scriptures,  and  in  its  principles,  as 
distinguished  from  living  faith.  As  I  have  shown 
in  the  case  of  the  Jews,  all  under  a  "covenant" 
4* 


82  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

must  believe,  when  the  idea  is  thoroughly  realized 
in  practice,  as  it  is — that  is,  when  it  is  no  meta- 
phor, nor  taken  in  a  metaphoric  sense.  I  have 
shown  how  it  took  place  with  regard  to  the  Jews ; 
now  I  shall  just  show  how  it  takes  place  with 
us- Churchmen,  who  still  possess  the  idea  of  a 
**  covenant." 

Others  use  extempore  prayers,  we  a  liturgy,  or 
set  form  of  words.  Consider  what  is  the  condition 
of  prayer:  it  reasons  not,  it  therefore  argues  not, 
and  doubts  not,  whatever  matters  of  belief  are 
brought  in  during  prayer  one  doubts  not  of.  In 
this  one  form  of  prayer,  all  articles  of  belief  are 
brought  in,  even  the  loftiest,  and  those  upon  which 
there  has  been  most  dispute,  the  clergyman  using 
the  liturgy  takes  for  granted,  and  the  congregation 
following  him  takes  also  for  granted.  He,  there- 
fore, in  a  measure  imposes  them  without  arguing  ; 
the  people,  when  they  follow  him,  take  them  with- 
out debate.  For  fifty-two  Sundays  in  the  year  the 
same  course  is  pursued — it  manifestly  tends  to 
belief. 

We  believe  in  a  covenant — that  covenant  in- 
cluding all,  and,  therefore,  children.  We  shall 
take  a  boy  of  ten  years  of  age  in  the  Church  ;  the 
first  thing  his  father  and  mother  do,  is  to  put  in 
his  hand  a  prayer  book,  to  teach  him  the  service. 
From  that  time  on,  he  reads  the  service ;  he  says, 
without  debate,  without  arguing,  "  O  God,  the  Son, 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  have  mercy  upon  us: 
O  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  proceeding  from  the  Fa- 
ther, and  the  Son,  have  mercy  upon  us,  miserable 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  83 

dinners  ;^'  he  repeats  daily  the  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments.  He  does  this 
from  childhood  through  3^outh.  What  is  the  im- 
pression? That  of  belief,  when  a  doubt  comes  up 
on  any  article  of  the  Christian  faith  in  the  37ears  of 
doubt,  that  is,  of  adv^ancirig  manhood.  For  infancy 
doubts  not;  it  is  the  age  of  faith;  the  time  of  doubt  is 
when  the  passions  show  themselves,  and  we  begin 
to  be  brought  in  contact  with  a  world  whose  prac- 
tice and  principle  require  us  not  to  believe ;  then 
the  impression  has  been  made,  the  ground  is  pre- 
occupied, doubt  is  at  a  disadvantage.  He  cannot 
readily  be  brought  to  disbelieve  those  things  which, 
without  doubt,  he  has  repeated  in  the  undoubting 
age  of  youth ;  which  he  has  heard,  each  Lord's 
day,  five  hundred  people  confess,  and  those  whom 
he  the  most  respected  for  probity  and  talents ;  if 
he  sink  into  infidelity,  it  must  be  with  a  mighty 
effort  and  struggle.  The  same  is  the  effect  upon 
the  riper  mjnd  of  man,  though  in  a  less  degree. 

When  he  listens  to  an  extempore  prayer, 
which,  being  the  composition  of  an  individual,  has 
but  his  authority,  he  is  not  trained  to  assent  to  it, 
there  is  no  moral  compulsion,  as  in  the  other  case ; 
his  reasoning  powers  are  immature,  and  their  very 
immaturity  makes  doubt.  He  hears  a  preacher 
preaching  upon  the  eternity  of  punishment ;  in  his 
childish  mind  he  says — "  God  is  most  merciful, 
there  can  be  no  hell  ;"  or  he  says — "  The  Father 
is  greater  than  the  Son,  therefore  the  Son  cannot 
be  God,  according  to  the  scriptures,  since  there 
cannot  be  a  less  God  and  a  greater  God."     All 


84  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

infidelity,  that  is,  all  deficiency  of  belief,  has 
marked  upon  it  immaturity  of  the  reasoning  pow- 
ers ;  it  originates,  then,  when  the  passions  begin  to 
arise  and  the  reason  is  unripe.  The  age  of  child- 
hood and  youth,  this  is  the  time  of  faith,  of  un- 
doubting  belief  upon  authority.  The  use  of  a 
liturgy  takes  advantage  of  this,  and  secures  belief, 
in  the  age  when  unbelief  springs  up.  It  is  founded 
7ipon  the  idea  of  a  covenant,  and  supposes  it^  and  upon 
that,  and  that  alone,  can  it  be  justified. 

To  show  the  force  of  this,  I  shall  bring  forward 
a  very  curious  circumstance,  illustrative  also  of  the 
very  point  of  this  treatise,  the  use  of  infant  baptism. 
Where  is  there  a  point  at  present  more  disputed  ? 
Certainly  none  among  the  non-Episcopal  sects. 
We  Churchmen,  as  I  have  said,  are  certain  in  our 
resolution,  the  Baptists  are  certain  in  their  nega- 
tive ;  but  among  all  others  it  is  a  point  of  very 
great  uncertainty,  one  upon  which  the  minds  of 
professors  are  most  exceedingly  exercised.  Yet 
when  the  first  Baptist  arose,  Peter  de  Bruis,  in  the 
twelfth  centur}^  one  of  the  holiest  men  of  his  day, 
Peter  of  Clugny,  in  writing  against  him,  says — 
*'  What  an  absurdity  is  your  doctrine.  For  he, 
manifestl}^  that  is  not  baptized  with  the  baptism 
of  Christ,  is  no  Christian ;  so,  as  all  France.  Spain, 
Germany^  Italy,  and  all  E^iropc,  during  three  hundred 
years,  or  almost  five  hundred,  has  had  no  one  who  was 
Qiot  baptized  in  infancy,  so  it  lias  had  no  Christian^ 

Such  was  the  effect  of  the  idea  of  a  covenant, 
and  the  unity  of  faith  and  practice  arising  from  it, 
that  one  of  the  points   most  debated  now  among 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  85 

those  from  whom  the  idea  of  a  covenant  has 
departed,  then  no  one  doubted,  among  su  many 
nations,  for  five  hundred  years. 

The  same  thing  is  the  case  among  us  now. 
Naturally,  easily,  and  of  course,  the  Churchman 
believes  in  infant  baptism,  and  baptizes  his  child- 
ren; we,  the  clergy  of  the  Church,  find  no  difficulty 
in  persuading  them  to  it.    Can  others  say  the  same? 

What,  then,  is  the  effect  of  a  covenant  upon  the 
truly  faithful  ?  For,  in  the  first  place,  I  have  shown 
that  upon  all,  it  is  that  of  belief  in  all  doctrines 
whatsoever.  The  truly  faithful,  therefore,  has  this 
advantage  also,  all  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  he 
believes  ;  has  no  doubt  of  their  truth  ;  his  work  is 
to  live,  to  act,  to  do  as  a  Christian.  By  the  idea 
of  an  actual,  and  real,  and  true  covenant,  when 
the  covenant  is  made,  the  man  is  a  Christian,  a 
subject  of  our  Lord  Christ,  a  member  of  his  family, 
a  child  of  the  covenant,  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  He  may  be  a  bad  Christian,  but  he 
ceases  not  to  he  a  Christian;  he  ma}"  be  a  rebellious 
subject,  but  no  rebellion  of  his  frees  him /row  being 
a  subject;  an  evil  member,  but  he  does  not  cease 
being  a  member. 

The  idea  of  a  kingdom,  or  a  covenanted  body, 
or  a  family,  implies  authority  to  correct ;  of  ma- 
gistrates, for  the  reform  of  evil  subjects,  implies 
law,  and  punishment,  and  reformation  for  them, 
and  discipline  :  so  the  idea  of  a  Christian  covenant 
implies  the  bad  to  remain  members  still,  under  the 
law.  The  prevalent  idea  among  those  who  are  of 
the  sects  is,  that  a  man  ceases  to  be  a  Christian, 


S6  MERCT  TO  BABES. 

ceases  to  be  a  member  of  the  covenant,  when  he 
sins.  Which  is  the  true  notion,  any  one  may  see 
by  Christ's  own  description  of  the  Church,  his 
kingdom,  as  a  field  with  tares  and  wheat ;  a  net, 
with  good  fish  and  bad.  Whereas,  upon  the 
ordinary  notion,  I  am  now  a  Christian,  bound  in 
covenant  with  God  ;  I  fall  away,  and  then  I  am 
no  Christian,  outside  the  covenant,  and  have  no 
claims  upon  it,  and,  as  a  consequence,  it  has  no 
claims  tipo?i  me. 

And  what  effect  has  it  upon  the  faithful  when 
compared  with  the  other  doctrine?  "I  believe 
in  Christ,  and  have  faith  that  he  is  my  Saviour, 
outward  forms  are  nothing  to  me,"  says  the  one; 
what  then  is  your  highest  evidence?  Surely  it  is 
neither  more  nor  less  than  that  inward  feeling ; 
and 'how  your  inward  feeling  that  you  have  faith 
in  Christ  and  that  Christ  is  ^''our  Saviour,  can 
make  him  your  Saviour,  is  what  certainly  cannot 
be  seen  from  the  Scriptures.  The  strength  of  that 
feeling,  the  earnestness  and  the  intensity  of  it,  are 
certainly  no  proof  of  the  fact,  any  more  than  the 
idea  of  a  madman  which  he  possesses  that  he  is 
heir  to  the  king  of  England  makes  him  his  heir,  or 
that  he  is  in  alliance  with  the  emperor  of  Morocco 
makes  him  so.  On  this  feeling  men  place  their 
salvation,  on  the  strength  of  it,  the  evidence  of  it. 
To  this  I  say,  that  the  feeling  makes  nothing;  the 
strength  or  weakness  of  it  still  less  ;  for  how  does 
the  feeling  prove  itself  true?  You  feel  that  you 
are  a  son  of  God  by  the  adoption ;  another  man, 
in  the  lunatic   as3dum,   feels  a  deal  stronger  than 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  87 

you  do,  that  he  is  Jesus  Christ.  He  goes  for  feel- 
ing, and  so  do  you — which  of  you  is  right?  Again, 
your  elevation  of  feeling  is  an  evidence,  his  feeling 
is  far  more  elevated. 

What,  then,  is  the  use  of  feeling  ?  A  very  great 
use,  indeed,  when  you  have  an  actual  and  real 
covenant^  an  external  fact  of  which  your  senses  and 
your  understanding  give  you  evidence.  Your  feel- 
ing is  the  hand  by  which  you  hold  on  to  this,  and 
if  your  feeling  should  at  any  time  change,  still  you 
have  the  certain  fact  to  hold  on  to,  the  one  supports 
the  other. 

Let  us  put  it  in  this  way :  here  is  the  fact  that 
Christ  was  born,  that  He  died  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world,  this  is  a  fact  real  and  true  ;  but  still 
it  is  in  the  past  as  to  time,  eighteen  hundred  years 
have  elapsed  since  then.  This  fact  does  not  come 
directly  and  immediate  to  us,  but  through  the 
evidence  of  a  book.  This  causes  the  possibility 
of  a  doubt ;  just  as  the  facts  of  Moses'  mission 
and  Moses'  miracles,  when  the  time  of  miracles 
and  prophecy  had  passed,  would  have  been  to 
an  Israelite,  without  a  Jewish  Church.  But  the 
covenant  founded  upon  this  was  an  actual  and  real 
covenant,  an  evidence  palpable  and  plain,  to  every 
Israelite  of  the  truth  of  the  facts  ;  an  evidence 
which,  as  we  have  remarked,  no  Israelite  could 
get  by.  And,  furthermore,  circumcision,  the  seal 
of  that  covenant,  was  an  evidence  to  him  personally 
and  individually.  "Why  am  I  circumcised?"  he 
would  say ;  **  why,  but  that  I  am  under  a  cove- 
nant?"   It  was  a  symbol  and  sign  of  the  covenant 


88  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

which  he  bore  in  his  person ;  and,  as  all  symbols 
do,  it  brought  close  home  to  himself  personally  all 
the  facts  connected  with  that  covenant.  It  was  an 
outward  symbol,  not  a  spiritual  one  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  it  brought  close  home  to  him  the  spirit- 
ual ideas  ;  it  was  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  which 
is  by  faith.  The  outward  symbol  was  an  actual 
fact,  upon  which  his  own  state  of  feeling  could 
have  no  effect;  and,  therefore,  it  served  as  a  sup- 
port, and  foundation,  and  buoy-rope,  (if  I  may  use 
the  expression,)  for  his  faith  to  rest  upon,  and  to 
hold  on  by.  It  was  a  personal  testimony  that  he 
was  actually  and  really  in  covenant  with  God  ;  a 
witness  to  him,  that  if  he  lived  by  God's  laws  and 
according  to  the  conditions,  then  had  he  the  sure 
promise  of  the  Almighty  and  Omniscient  that  all 
circumstances  should  be  controlled  for  him ;  a 
witness,  too,  that  if  he  rebelled,  then  was  he  re- 
bellious against  his  God,  disobedient  to  his  most 
merciful  Father,  and  would  suffer  all  the  penalties 
of  that  disobedience.  The  reader  of  the  bible  may 
see  a  strong  proof  of  the  views  before  him,  as  to 
the  effect  of  an  outward  covenant,  as  regards  belief 
in  the  fact  that  in  the  reproaches  God  makes  the 
Israelites,  through  his  prophets,  disobedience,  ob- 
stinacy, and  rebellion,  these  are  the  sins  with 
which  he  rebukes  them  ;  but  want  of  belief  in  the 
facts,  or  what  we  call  infidelity,  in  no  case  does 
he  rebuke  them  for  this. 

I  shall  now  bring  forward  the  proofs  from 
scripture  of  a  covenant,  actual  and  true,  wiih  ug 
Christians.     His  prophecy  in  the  old  testament  is 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  89 

this,  (Jer.  xxxi.  31,)  *'I  will  make  with  them  a 
new  covenant ;"  (Heb.  viii.  7,)  a  new  covenant,  as 
the  Apostle  notes,  makes  the  first  old.  There  is, 
therefore,  an  old  covenant  and  a  new  ;  both  cove- 
nants, the  one  old  and  the  other  new  ?  Does  the 
new  covenant  being  new  make  it  less  a  covenant? 
Certainly  not,  it  is  a  covenant  still.  But  there  are 
differences  ?  certainly  there  are — and  what  are 
they  ?  *'  Oh,"  say  they  that  believe  the  covenant 
to  be  merely  internal,  "  the  new  one,  the  first  cove- 
nant was  with  the  Jew  as  member  of  a  family 
descended  from  one  man,  as  of  a  nation,  of  a 
people  chosen  out,  and  having  a  priesthood ;  our 
covenant  is  of  the  individual  man,  without  refer- 
ence to  family,  and  with  no  priesthood." 

This,  unquestionably,  is  the  belief  of  the  mass 
of  ordinary  Christians.  How  it  agrees  with  Paul's 
proof  that  Christians  are  spiritually  and  actually 
the  children  of  Abraham,  1  cannot  see;  how  it 
agrees  with  the  fact  that  Christ  remains  forever  a 
priest  after  the  order  of  Melchezideck,  I  cannot 
see ;  nor  how  it  agrees  with  the  assertion  of  his 
eternal  priesthood  in  heaven.  But,  as  it  were  by 
the  spirit  of  prophecy,  to  meet  all  objections  upon 
this  score,  the  holy  apostle  Peter  asserts  the  direct 
contrary  ;  "  Ye,"  says  he,  "  are  a  chosen  genera- 
tion, a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar 
people,  that  ye  should  show  forth  the  praises  of 
him  who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness  into  his 
marvellous  light."  (1  Peter  ii.  8.)  The  epistle  is 
general,  addressed  to  the  whole  body  of  Christians 
throughout  the  world.     He  tells  this  body,  there- 


90  MERCY  TO  BABES, 

fore,  that  they  are  a  generation,  or  family,  so  were 
the  Israelites  ;  that  they  are  chosen  as  a  generation, 
so  they  were ;  that  they  are  a  royal  priesthood,  a 
people,  or  nation,  so  were  the  Jews  ;  *'  holy,"  that 
is,  set  apart  by  a  covenant  with  God,  who  is  holy 
for  the  purposes  of  holiness,  and  peculiar ;  that  is 
as  the  Israelites,  as  a  plain  historical  fact,  have 
always  been  from  all  the  nations  who  make  up 
the  body  of  what  is  called  the  world,  and  as  the 
Christian  Church  has  always  been,  peculiar  and 
strange  to  those  without.  This  text  at  once  refutes 
the  above  notion.  Men,  of  course,  may  think  this 
is  metaphorical ;  I  care  not  for  them.  They  may 
say  it  refers  to  the  invisible  body  of  the  elect; 
when  a  nation,  a  generation,  a  people,  is  shown  to 
have  been  invisible,  when  it  is  shown  that  the  body 
of  Christians  is  invisible,  then  we  may  believe  that 
notion,  not  till  then.  The  fact  is  this,  Peter  ad- 
dressed the  visible  Church,  the  whole  body  of 
Christians  in  his  day,  who  had  one  faith,  one  God, 
one  baptism,  and  asserted  that  with  them,  as  with 
one  hodijy  the  covenant  was  made,  and  with  each 
one  as  a  member  of  that  body.  Nor  can  we  find 
in  holy  scriptures  so  much  as  the  mention  of  "  an 
invisible  Church,"  much  less  the  idea  of  it.  The 
Church  of  God,  the  covenanted  body  is  visible,  its 
covenant  is  one  manifest  to  the  senses,  the  seal  of 
the  covenant  is  a  visible  external  fact. 

One  will  say,  then,  the  first  business  when  we 
repent  and  have  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  is  to  be 
united  by  baptism  with  the  visible  Church;  and 
which   is   that  ?     Take   Peter's    description,    and 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  91 

there  is  no  difficuly — it  is  peculiar.  None  of  the 
non-Episcopal  sects  are  so,  they  have  no  peculiarity 
in  worship,  rites,  or  modes  of  thinking,  they  are  all 
"  on  the  broad  basis  of  Christian  liberality."  Epis- 
copal churches  only  are  *'  peculiar." 

The  Church  is  apostolic,  has  the  succession 
of  authority  and  ministry  ;  well,  but  so  has  the 
Roman  Church,  and  which  shall  we  unite  with  ? 
Little  difficulty  there  either.  Israel  was  God's 
covenanted  people,  with  them  was  the  visible  cove- 
nant; yet  Israel  was  divided  in  two  parts,  Judah 
and  Samaria — the  first  retained  the  pure  worship 
of  God,  the  last  was  idolatrous.  So  it  is  with  the 
two  branches  here  :  saint-worship,  money-worship, 
angel-worship,  these  at  once  point  out  which  an- 
swers to  Samaria,  and  what  the  proper  mode  of 
acting  in  such  a  case. 

'  There  is  a  visible  body,  then,  a  covenanted 
body,  a  visible  covenant,  and  visible  members; 
and  these  last  divided  in  two  classes,  the  disobe- 
dient and  rebellious,  and  the  obedient  and  good. 
Now,  we  asserted  in  our  last  chapter,  that  to  those 
brought  into  the  Church  by  baptism  certain  privi- 
leges belong,  as  under  the  Jewish  law  certain 
privileges  belonged  to  those  brought  under  it ;  we 
asserted,  too,  that  these  privileges  were  exclusive, 
that  is,  belonged  to  them  alone,  in  virtue  of  their 
having  entered  within  the  covenant ;  and  that  they 
are  attributed  to  baptism,  in  virtue  of  baptism 
being  the  door  and  entrance  into  the  covenant  now. 
And  this  brings  us  to  another  part  of  the  sub- 
ject, which,  too,  has  been  wrought  into  metaphor. 


92  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

The  old  covenant,  it  is  well  known,  concerned 
mainly  temporal  things ;  the  new  covenant  is 
"spiritual."  Now  what  does  "spiritual"  mean? 
Take  it  as  men  take  it,  and  you  will  find  spiritual 
means  "figurative;"  a  "  spiritual  covenant"  is  a 
metaphoric  covenant ;  spiritual  blessings  are  the 
general  blessings  of  Christianity. 

No,  there  is  no  such  vagueness  about  it,  no 
such  unreality.  There  are  two  worlds,  the  visible 
world,  and  the  spiritual  world,  or  world  of  spirits; 
and  spiritual  blessings  are  blessings  that  are  con- 
nected with  the  world  of  spirits — they  are  real  and 
actual^  although  spiritual. 

As  being  of  the  spiritual  world,  they  are  unseen; 
faith,  which  is  the  evidence  of  things  unseen,  is 
their  evidence,  faith  in  God's  word  and  his  power. 
On  that  principle  I  shall  deal  with  the  matter. 
Here  is  the  covenant,  a  visible  and  real  covenanted 
body,  the  Church  ;  a  visible  and  real  seal,  the 
sacrament  of  baptism  ;  all  these  facts  are  visible, 
tangible,  proveable.  Here  are  the  spiritual  bless- 
ings, the  object  of  faith,  not  of  the  senses,  asserted 
in  the  scriptures,  believed  in  by  faith,  without 
proof,  by  the  members  of  the  covenant  through  all 
ages.  You,  outside  the  covenant,  ask  us  how  it 
can  be,  you  want  proof;  we  give  you  none,  be- 
cause none  can  be  given  ;  we  bring  you  the  plain 
words  of  scripture  asserting  them,  and  then  we 
say,  "  we  believe."  If  you  choose  to  take  it,  well 
and  good  ;  if  not,  you  may  go  on  your  own  way, 
for  your  position,  as  one  in  fact  not  united  with  the 
visible  Church  of  Christ,   but  a  sect,  is  such  as 


MERCY  To  BABES.  93 

naturally  to  incline  you  to  disbelieve  in  the  fact  of 
a  real  visible  covenant,  having  spritual  blessings 
attached  to  it ;  and  if  the  plain  and  manifest  words 
of  the  scripture  cause  you  no  belief,  my  arguments 
will  have  no  effect. 

The  first  doctrine,  then,  which  I  specified  in 
the  last  chapter,  is,  that  coming  to  baptism  with 
repentance  from  dead  works,  and  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  as  requisites,  we  receive  the  blessings  of 
regeneration  ;  we  are  introduced  into  the  Church, 
that  is,  into  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth  ;  we 
have  the  adoption  of  sons ;  we  are  made  mem- 
bers of  Christ,  children  of  God,  inheritors  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  ;  all  these  phrases  implying 
one  and  the  same  thing — regeneration.  We  shall 
give  a  few  texts. 

1.  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the 
spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

2.  "He  saved  us  by  the  washing  of  regenera- 
tion, and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."    (Tit.  iii.  5.) 

3.  "  Therefore  we  are  buried  by  baptism  into 
death."     (Rom.  vi.  4.) 

4.  *'As  many  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus 
Christ  were  baptized  into  his  death."   (Rom.  vi.  3.) 

6.  "  Ye  are  all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus.  For  as  many  as  have  been  baptized 
into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ."    (Gal.  iii.  26,  27.) 

6.  "  And  if  children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God, 
and  joint  heirs  with  Christ ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer 
with  him,  that  we  may  be  glorifisd  together  with 
him."     (Rom.  viii.  17.) 


94  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

7.  "He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall 
be  saved."     (Mark  xvi.  16.) 

8.  *'  Go  ye,  and  make  disciples  of  (out  of)  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  (Matt, 
xxviii.  19.) 

9.  *'  As  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave 
he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them 
that  believe  in  his  name  :  which  were  born,  not  of 
blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will 
of  man,  but  of  God."    (John  i.  12,  13.)     See  No.  1. 

Now  let  us  take  these  passages  in  their  plain 
sense,  and  what  do  they  say,  neither  more  nor  less, 
than  that  we  are  born  of  "  water  and  the  Spirit." 
They  hang  together  in  asserting  this  doctrine,  that 
in  baptism  we  are  taken  out  of  the  world  and 
placed  in  the  kingdom  of  God — the  visible  Church 
of  God.  This  is  the  plain  and  evident  sense  ;  but 
how  can  it  be  ? 

As  I  said  before,  I  cannot  tell ;  I  have  faith  that 
it  is  so.  Is  it  not  of  a  piece  with  God's  dealing  in 
other  things?  Look  at  the  case  of  the  Syrian  leper 
coming  to  be  healed  of  his  disease,  he  was  desired 
to  dip  seven  times  in  the  Jordan.  How  was  he 
healed?  Simply  because  God  chose  to  attach  to 
the  use  of  that  washing  the  benefit.  The  water 
was  not  medicinal,  by  no  power  of  it  was  he 
healed.  Yet  most  undoubtedly  had  he  not  dipped 
in  the  water,  he  could  not  have  been  healed.  So 
with  baptism. 

Look  at  Christ  ordering  the  blind  man  to  bathe 


MERCy  TO  BABES.  95 

in  Siloam  and  receive  his  sight :  here  too,  the  in- 
strument was  nothing  in  itself,  yet  the  effect  fol- 
lowed by  its  use,  would  have  followed  by  the  use 
of  nothing  else.  Look  at  the  use  of  means  in 
general,  by  God  who  is  almighty,  and  think  that 
he  may  establish  any  means  he  pleases,  and  the 
effect  will  follow.  If,  in  these  cases,  God  acted, 
manifestly  and  plainly,  is  it  now  incredible,  espe- 
cially when  he  himself  has  asserted  it  in  plain 
words. 

The  next  benefit  that  is  in  the  holy  scriptures 
attached  to  baptism,  is  the  remission  of  sins. 

Acts  ii.  38.  "  Repent,  and  be  baptized  every 
one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the 
remission  of  sins." 

Acts  xxii.  16.  "  Ananias  said  unto  Saul,  why 
tarriest  thou  ?  arise,  and  be  baptized,  and  wash 
away  thy  sins,  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

Rom.  vi.  3,  4.  *'  So  many  of  us  as  were  bap- 
tized into  Jesus  Christ  were  baptized  into  his 
death.  (By  his  death  applies  the  pardon  of  sin.) 
*'  Then  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  unto 
death." 

"  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be 
saved." 

"  All  power  is  given  me  in  heaven  and  earth, 
go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name,"  &c. 

*'  All  power  in  heaven  and  earth,"  i.  e.  I  am 
God  omnipotent,  by  gift  from  the  Father,  "  go  ye 
therefore  teach  all  nations."  The  word  therefore 
implies  a  direct  commission  from  Christ,  in  refer- 


96  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

ence  to  his  power  it  must  be  ia  either  *'  teach  "  or 
"  baptize;  "  "  teach  "  belongs  to  any  man,  *'  bap- 
tize "  only  to  those  commissioned.  Baptism  is  for 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  none  but  Almighty 
power  can  forgive  sins.  The  assertion,  therefore, 
of  Almighty  power,  in  the  first  clause,  directly  im- 
plies that  baptism  is  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 

Peter's  assertion,  that  baptism  is  a  saving  ordi- 
nance, implies  remission  of  sins — since  this  is 
salvation. 

Acts  X.  43.  "  To  him  give  all  the  prophets 
witness,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should 
receive  remission  of  sins."  And  then,  verse  38, 
"  He  commanded  them  to  be  baptized  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord." 

"  With  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  sal- 
vation." 

Luke  i.  77.  "  To  give  knowledge  of  salvation 
by  the  remission  of  sins." 

Christ's  baptism  is  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  therefore 
of  God,  for  the  remission  of  sins.  Here  then  is 
baptism  plainly  said  to  be  for  the  remission  of 
sins,  just  as  plainly  as  I  say  in  our  creed,  that  '*  I 
believe  one  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins." 
There  is  no  text  that  says  it  is  not  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  and  only  a  mere  form.  There  is  no  pas- 
sage that  asserts  xhdX  faith  without  baptism  can  obtain 
remission  of  sins  for  the  unbaptized.  The  assertion 
of  the  scriptures  is  plainly,  that  repentance  and 
faith  being  required  as  prerequisites,  baptism  is  for 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  absolutely  necessary, 
except  in  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God. 


MERCVr  TO  BABES.  ^  97 

Again,  we  are  met  in  this  by  the  old  question, 
**  How  can  this  be?  '*  Again  we  see  the  manifest 
inclination  to  deny  the  very  words  of  the  holy 
scriptures,  because  we  cannot  quite  understand 
the  mode. 

Men  will  say,  we  cannot  believe  that  to  the 
sprinkling  or  immersion  in  water,  such  a  gift  can 
be  attached.  I  do  not  believe  myself  it  can.  Bap- 
tism is  a  little  more  than  this.  First:  It  is  a  solemn 
sacrifice  on  the  part  of  the  officiating  clergyman, 
wherein  he  offers  to  the  power  of  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Spirit,  the  subject  of  it.  Secondly  :  On  the 
part  of  the  individual  or  sponsors,  it  is  a  solemn 
dedication  of  himself  to  God's  service.  Thirdly: 
It  is  a  covenant  concluded  by  a  symbolic  action 
between  the  individual  and  Almighty  God.  And, 
fourthly :  It  is  wrought  by  the  immediate  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

If  Christians  viewed  it  in  this  light,  as  a  solemn 
sacrifice  to  Almighty  God,  appointed  by  his  Son : 
as  a  solemn  dedication  of  the  individual ;  as  the 
seal  and  completing  rite  of  a  covenant  for  the 
remission  of  sin,  and  as  brought  out  and  completed 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  there  would  be  few  such 
cavillings. 

If  it  cannot  be  for  the  remission  of  sins,  pray 
w^hat  can  ?  Wherein  does  faith  so  much  meet  as 
here  ?  Here  is  the  clergyman  praying  that  this 
man  be  forgiven,  the  man  himself  praying  the 
same,  his  witnesses  and  the  congregation.  If  faith 
be  the  means  whereby  we  are  to  obtain  all  spiritual 
blessing,  when  or  at  what  other  time  and  place  are 
5 


96  MERCY  TO  Babes. 

we  to  expect  it  more  than  at  such  a  conjuncture  as 
this  ?  If,  when  two  or  three  are  gathered  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them,  is  not  the 
Saviour  present  then  ?  "  If  two  of  you  shall  agree 
upon  earth,  touching  any  thing  they  shall  ask,  it 
shall  be  done  for  them  by  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."  (Matt,  xviii.  19.)  Shall  we  not  expect 
at  the  baptism  of  an  individual  the  promise  he  has 
made  of  remission  of  sins  at  his  holy  baptism, 
when  we  unite  in  praying  for  it  ? 

But  how  can  remission  of  sins  be  attached  to 
baptism,  even  admitting  that  it  is  all  that  we  say, 
an  offering  on  the  part  of  the  clergyman,  a  dedica- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  individual,  and  the  seal  of  a 
covenant  ?  It  avails  in  this  way,  that  it  is  wrought 
by  the  direct  power  of  the  holy  Spirit.  John's 
baptism  he  himself  distinguishes  from  the  baptism 
of  Christ,  that  he  indeed  baptized  unto  repent- 
ance, "  but  there  cometh  one  after  me,  that  shall 
baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire." 
And,  accordingly,  we  find  in  the  Acts,  Paul 
found  certain  disciples  at  Ephesus,  "  He  said  unto 
them.  Have  ye  received  the  Holy  Ghost  since  ye 
believed?  They  said  unto  him,  We  have  not  so 
much  as  heard  whether  there  be  any  Holy  Ghost. 
And  he  said  unto  them,  Unto  what  then  were  ye 
baptized?  They  said.  Unto  John's  baptism.  Then 
said  Paul,  John  verily  baptized  with  the  baptism 
of  repentance,  saying  that  they  should  believe  on 
him  which  should  come  after  him,  that  is,  on  Christ 
Jesus.  When  they  heard  this,  they  were  baptized 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."     (Acts  xix.  1 — 5.) 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  9d 

The  distinction  had  been  laid  down  by  John ; 
here  it  was  carried  out  by  Paul.  The  distinction 
was  this,  that  the  baptism  of  John  was  a  baptism 
upon  repentance  unto  faith,  a  preparation  to  the 
full  blessings  of  Christianity.  Christ's  baptism,  a 
baptism  in  which  the  agent  was  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
and,  therefore,  it  is  that  the  baptism  of  Christ  is  a 
baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins,  the  Holy  Spirit 
being  God  Almighty,  and  in  it  forgiving,  by  that 
power,  sins. 

Accordingly,  in  the  holy  scriptures  throughout 
we  find  the  Spirit  mentioned  in  connexion  with 
baptism.  I  have  brought  those  two  passages  to- 
gether, and  shown  the  last  especially,  fully  as  it  is, 
that  I  may  notice  two  facts  in  it.  First,  it  is  twisted 
round  in  the  most  extraordinary  way,  to  show  that 
these  men  were  not  rebaptized.  I  argue  not  upon 
it.  People  may  take  it  as  it  stands  or  not.  I  take 
it  as  it  stands. 

They  who  do  not  have  strong  motives  in  their 
tradition.  First,  they  assert  that  John's  baptism 
was  the  same  as  Christ's  baptism  ;  secondly,  they 
deny  that  Christian  baptism  is  for  the  remission  of 
sins ;  thirdly,  in  the  words  since  **  ye  believed," 
they,  upon  their  principle,  that  faith  without  bap- 
tism can  give  remission  of  sins,  cannot  see  any 
necessity  of  baptizing  these  '*  believers "  again. 
Men  that  come  to  such  a  text  with  such  principles, 
must  of  course  explain  it  as  well  as  thay  can,  to 
argue  with  these  principles. 

Had  they  looked  to  Paul  they  might  have  seen 
that  he  had  repentance,  and  had  faith  in  Christ, 


100  MERCY  TO  BABES* 

and  three  days  afterward  Ananias  baptized  him 
for  the  remission  of  sins  ;  had  they  looked  to  the 
scriptures  they  would  have  seen  that,  *'  by  one 
Spirit  we  are  baptized  into  one  body;"  had  they 
looked  to  John's  owu  description,  they  would  have 
seen  that  his  was  not  baptism  of  the  Spirit.  I  argue 
not  upon  the  point  with  them,  for  in  their  denial  of 
the  character  of  Christian  baptism,  which  the  scrip- 
tures assert  in  plain  words,  there  is  motive  enough 
to  enable  them  to  withstand  any  argument  of  mine. 
I  believe  in  the  remission  of  sins,  because  the 
baptism  of  Christ  for  this  is  wrought  by  the  Spirit. 
*'  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit, 
he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  (John 
iii.  5.)  *'  Ye  are  washed,  (that  is,  baptized,)  ye  are 
sanctified,  ye  are  justified,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  (a  short  way  of  mentioning  the  baptismal 
form,  as  in  another  place,  '  they  were  baptized  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,')  and  by  the  Spirit  of 
our  God,"  (1  Cor.  vi.  11,)  in  which  the  agency  of 
the  Spirit  in  baptism  is  directly  asserted.  Again, 
in  reference  to  baptism,  the  seal  of  the  Christian 
covenant,  as  was  circumcision  of  the  Jewish,  he 
says,  *'  God  hath  given  us  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit 
in  our  hearts."     (2  Cor.  i.  22.) 

If  one,  therefore,  ask  of  me  why  I  believe  in 
baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins,  T  say,  because  it 
is  plainly  asserted  in  the  holy  scriptures,  and  one 
word  of  them  I  dare  not  deny. 

Secondly,  I  see  that  in  this  the  Spirit  is  asserted 
every  where  to  have  the  chief  agenc}^  and  corres- 
ponding to  it  is  the  peculiar  character  of  Christian 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  101 

baptism    as    distinguished    from    the    baptism    of 
John. 

Thirdly,  Because  of  the  peculiar  character  of 
baptism  as  a  sacrifice,  by  which  the  minister 
dedicates  the  individual  to  God,  by  virtue  of  his 
"  having  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,"  which 
cannot  take  place  without  the  remission  of  sin,  and 
sets  forward  that  ministry,  and  that  power,  in  the 
words,  "  I  baptize  thee  in  the  name,  (that  is,  by 
the  power  and  authority  of)  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit."  And  to  use  the  words  of  a 
most  admirable  author,  Bishop  Nicholson,  on  the 
Catechism,  which  book  I  would  were  in  the  hands 
of  all  our  clergy  and  all  our  laity,  "  These  words 
are  retained  that  we  may  know  that  what  the 
minister  doth,  he  doth  not  himself,  or  from  himself, 
as  of  his  own  head,  but  by  commission,  command, 
and  good  authority,  even  by  the  authority  of  the 
whole  Trinity.  And,  therefore,  what  he  doth  is  of  the 
same  validity  as  if  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  should  baptize,  since  it  is  in  their  name,  their 
authority,  their  power. ^^ 

The  plain  meaning  of  the  form  cannot  be  mis- 
taken as  implying  remission  of  sins,  by  an  offering 
and  sacrificial  dedication  on  the  part  of  the  clergy- 
man. 

And  as  a  support  to  this  fact  is  another,  that  in 
the  Church  it  was  long  the  only  form  of  ordination, 
**  Receive  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  office  and  work 
of  a  priest  in  the  Church  of  God,  now  committed 
to  thee  by  the  imposition  of  our  hands.  Whose 
sins  thou  dost  remit,  they  are  remitted ;  and  whose 


102  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

sins  thou  dost  retain,  they  are  retained."  A  plain 
allusion  to  the  commission  to  baptize,  as  plain  a 
one  to  the  text,  *'  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins." 
Not  that  the  clergyman  of  himself  has  the  power  of 
remission,  but  as  *'a  minister  of  reconciliation,"  of 
the  '*  one  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins." 

And  to  the  vilest,  and  worst,  and  wickedest  who 
repents  and  professes  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  I 
dare  say,  upon  his  baptism :  If  thy  repentance  be 
true,  thy  faith  sincere,  then  by  thy  baptism  thy  sins 
are  remitted  as  certainly  as  God  has  spoken.  I 
send  him  not  to  his  own  feelings,  not  to  the  weak 
and  unestablished  heart  of  a  babe  in  Christ,  not  to 
the  faint  and  feeble  faith  that  may  be  but  as  a 
grain  of  mustard  seed,  but  to  the  sure  fact  which 
he  cannot  mistake,  of  the  sealed  covenant,  to  his 
dedication  by  holy  baptism  unto  Almighty  God. 

Fourthly,  I  believe  in  a  baptism  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,  because  it  is  upon  his  part  a  voluntary 
agreement  and  dedication  "  in  the  name,"  that  is, 
into  the  profession  of  faith,  in  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Spirit.  For  he  confesses  there  this  fact,  "  For 
whosoever  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  also 
will  I  confess  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
(Matt.  X.  32.)  And  "with  the  heart  man  believeth 
unto  righteousness,  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made 
to  salvation.^^  A  plain  allusion  to  the  confession  im- 
plied, and  then  most  fully  made  in  baptism.  And 
certainly  there  cannot  be  salvation  without  the 
remission  of  our  sins. 

Lastly,  because  the  baptismal  covenant,  the 
new  covenant,  is  a  true  covenant,  a  spiritual  cove- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  103 

nant,  a  covenant  of  grace.  And  it  is  manifestly 
impossible  to  enter  within  it  in  our  sins,  we  must 
leave  them  at  the  door,  the  vei'ij  entrance.  And, 
therefore,  the  ordinance  by  which  we  enter  in 
must  of  necessity  be  for  the  remission  of  sins.  For 
these  reasons,  in  addition  to  the  plain  declaration 
of  the  scriptures,  which  I  must  hold  to,  I  cannot 
but  consent,  in  the  plain  literal  sense,  to  the  scrip- 
ture declaration,  the  baptism  of  Christ  is  for  the 
remission  of  sins. 

Again,  the  Christian  covenant,  that  is,  the 
covenant  into  which  all  Christians  are  introduced 
b}'  holy  baptism,  embraces  in  it  some  peculiar 
privileges  in  consequence  of  itself.  One  of  the  first 
and  most  important  of  which  is,  the  indwelling  of 
the  Spirit.  Here,  again,  we  are  met  by  the  meta- 
phor of  the  age,  one  class  of  Christians,  so  calling 
themselves,  make  the  Spirit  itself  a  quality,  and 
speak  of  the  holy  and  eternal  Spirit  of  God,  the 
third  person  of  the  blessed  Trinity,  as  they  speak 
of  the  spirit,  that  is,  temper  and  influence  of  a 
people  or  city;  another  class,  not  so  far  gone  in 
metaphor,  though  on  their  road  to  it,  so  far  that 
when  the  scripture  speaks  of  "His  dwelling  in  us," 
understand  by  this  phrase  a  metaphor  also,  we  are 
under  its  influence,  or  our  temper  is  modified  by  it; 
of  course,  the  natural  conclusion  is,  that  it  is  external 
to  us,  and  necessarily  the  only  evidence  we  have 
of  its  existence,  is  our  moral  and  religious  feeling. 

With  their  good  leave  it  is  not  so ;  far  different 
from  this  is  the  doctrine  of  the  holy  scriptures,  as 
to  the  privilege  of  the  Christian  in  reference  to  the 


104  MERCY  TO  BABES'. 

indwelling  Spirit  of  God  ;  so  it  is  to  all  men  that 
have  a  conscience,  for  the  conscience  is  the  ear 
wherewith  the  soul  of  man  listens  to  the  voice  of 
the  Spirit,  and  what  we  call  the  suggestions  of  the 
conscience,  are  His  voice. 

But  the  Christian's  privilege  is  higher  still,  in 
consequence  of  this  covenant  with  the  Almighty. 
That  covenant  is  made  in  baptism,  and  the  efficient 
agent  in  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter.  And 
because  of  this,  not  externally,  does  he  work  upon 
the  Christian  but  internally.  He  dwelleth  in  us 
actually  and  really,  not  in  our  souls  only,  but  in 
our  bodies  also.  I  understand  this  indwelling  to 
be  a  literal  and  personal  abidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God  in  and  within  this  our  corporeal 
frame,  and  that  this  is  the  sense  of  the  scriptures, 
this  the  feeling  of  the  old  Church  undefiled,  this 
the  true  and  real  sense  of  the  scriptures. 

What,  some  one  will  say,  this  is  a  most  aston- 
ishing notion,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  dwells  within 
the  person  of  the  covenanted  subject  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  that  within  the  limits  of  his  frame, 
the  Third  Person  should  abide — it  is  a  manifest 
absurdity.  Be  it  so.  Let  us  look  at  the  position 
of  the  man  with  reference  to  his  own  soul.  You 
are  perfectly  certain  that  your  own  soul  is  connected 
with  your  body,  yel  when  you  go  to  apply  the  idea 
of  locality  to  it,  which  is  involved  in  the  idea  of 
body,  what  miserable  absurdities  do  you  fall  into; 
if  you  suppose  the  soul  in  every  part,  why  then 
the  soul  must  be  the  shape  of  the  body,  as  being 
agreeably  diffused,  therefore  the  souls  of  men  must 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  105 

have  legs,  and  arms,  and  a  nose!  an  idea  which 
was  that  of  old  Tutulliun.  When  you  suppose  it 
dwelling  in  any  particular  part,  then  you  have  the 
soul  the  shape  of  that  part;  and,  besides,  as  the 
bod}"  moves,  you  have  the  soul  moving  in  the  body 
from  one  part  of  space  to  another,  and  so  forth. 
Of  one  fact  only  you  are  certain,  that  in  some  way 
or  other  within  the  corporeal  limits  of  your  frame, 
there  is  your  immortal  spirit ;  but  when  you  come 
to  examine  the  mode,  then  are  you  cast  into  doubt, 
absurdity,  and  confusion,  unbounded.  Yet  the  soul 
does  still  abide  ivithin  the  hody^  and  every  man  that 
believes  he  has  a  soul  must  and  does  believe  it. 
Now  this  is  my  assertion,  that  precisely  in  the 
same  way  as  the  soul  abides  in  the  body  of  any 
man,  precisely  so  does  the  Spirit  of  the  most  holy 
God  personally  and  actually  dwell  in  the  coven- 
anted Christian's  person. 

We  go  to  examine  the  texts  that  assert  it.  1 
Cor.  vi.  19,  20.  "  What!  know  ye  not  that  your 
body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  in 
yoUf  which  ye  have  of  God,  and  ye  are  not  your 
own  ?  for  ye  are  bought  with  a  price :  therefore 
glorify  God  in  your  body  and  in  your  spirit,  which 
are  God's." 

Your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
which  is  in  you,  and  therefore  glorify  God  in  your 
body  and  in  your  soul,  which  are  God's.  Now  let 
the  reader  look  at  this  passage  in  connexion  with 
the  previous  passages ;  they  are  an  argument,  not 
against  all  sin,  but  against  a  particular  class  of 
sins,  sins  of  the  flesh,  sins  in  which  the  body  is  the 
5» 


106  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

instrument;  and  he  must  see,  plainer  than  the  light, 
that  St.  Paul  took  this  as  no  metaphor,  for  our  souls, 
being  under  the  influence  of  the  spirit,  but  as  an 
actual  and  real  indwelling,  an  abidance  as  in  a 
temple,  really  and  truly.  And  as  the  certainty  of 
the  dwelling  of  the  Schekinah  in  the  temple,  the 
presence  of  God  really  and  locally  there,  though 
beyond  our  comprehension  as  to  how  it  could  have 
been,  led  the  old  Jews  to  all  reverence  and  purity 
as  to  what  concerned  the  sanctuary,  so  should  the 
same  feeling  exist  as  to  the  body  of  man. 

Take  any  metaphor  you  choose,  even  of  the 
highest,  and  the  argument  in  its  strength  and  full- 
ness is  destroyed  ;  take  it  literally,  and  it  remains. 

1  Cor.  iii.  16,  Eph.  ii.  21,  22.  "In  whom  all 
the  building,  fitly  framed  together,  groweth  unto 
an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord  :  in  whom  ye  also  are 
builded  together  for  an  habitation  of  God  through 
the  Spirit."  Here  is  the  same  doctrine.  The 
material  temple  was  for  God's  indwelling;  the 
Church  also  universally  is  the  interior  dwelling  of 
the  Spirit  in  this  world,  in  contradistinction  to  His 
outer  influence  upon  all  through  the  conscience; 
yet  its  being  a  temple  was  caused  by  the  Spirit  in 
each  one  indwelling.  Because  of  the  one  Spirit  in 
each,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  life,  the  "  stones  grow 
together."  Within  the  limits  of  the  old  temple  the 
Spirit  dwelt,  yet  stones  were  dead  ;  and  now  it  is 
the  life  in  each  stone  that  causes  the  unity  and 
the  growth.  Language  sinks  under  the  weight  of 
heavenly  things,  and  therefore  we  have  the  appar- 
ently incongruous  metaphor  of  stones  in  a  building, 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  107 

and  life  in  these  stones.  Accordingly,  in  1  Peter 
ii.  5,  we  have  the  same  metaphor — '*  Ye  also,  as 
lively  stones,  are  built  up  a  spiritual  house." 

In  accordance  with  this  we  have,  in  Rom.  viii,  9 
— '*  Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so 
be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you."  This  is 
taken  for  granted  here,  and  is  made  for  the  morti- 
fication of  the  deeds  of  the  body  ;  and  furthermore, 
that  there  be  no  mistake  about  the  actual  and  real 
indwelling  of  the  Spirit,  it  is  declared  that — "If 
the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the 
dead  dwell  in  you,"  then  as  a  consequence  to  the 
body  itself,  in  which  the  Spirit  dwells — "  He  that 
raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead,  shall  also  quicken 
your  mortal  bodies,  by  his  Spirit  which  dwelletk 
in  you."  The  whole  argument  of  the  chapter 
supposes  that  actual  indwelling  which,  as  I  have 
stated,  Paul  so  plainly  utters  in  the  first  quoted 
passage.     Without  this  it  all  falls  to  the  ground. 

Let  a  man  admit  this  to  be  a  fact^  and  no 
metaphor,  and  he  shall  see  most  plain  reasons  for 
fasting,  for  mortification  of  body,  and  self-denial  in 
all  its  various  forms,  as  enjoined  in  the  scripture ; 
let  him  deny  it,  and  explain  it  away  by  metaphor 
and  so  forth,  and  all  motive  is  gone. 

Again,  the  same  idea  is  made  an  argument 
against  "eating  in  idol  temples."  (2  Cor.  vi.  16.) 
"  What  agreement  hath  the  temple  of  God  with 
idols  ?  for  ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God  ;  as 
God  hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in 
them ;  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be 
my  people.     And  I  will  be  a  father  unto  you,  and 


108  MERCY  TO  BABIES. 

ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters."  Hefe  again 
is  the  same  idea ;  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  Holy 
Ghost,  is  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  he  that  makes  us 
sons  and  daughters  through  the  covenant.  The 
consequence  of  this  is,  that  God  the  Spirit  dwells 
in  Christians,  and  "walks  in  them;"  therefore 
each  individual  Christian  is  the  temple,  actually 
and  really,  of  God.  Wherefore,  then,  bring  into 
the  temple  of  idols  that  mortal  frame  which  is  the 
tabernacle  of  God?  The  argument  is  complete, 
the  idea  being  taken  literally.  As  a  metaphor,  it 
sinks  and  loses  all  force. 

I  shall  end  with  one  or  two  more  quotations. 
1  Col.  i.  19  it  is  said — "  It  pleased  the  Father  that 
in  him  should  all  fulness  dwell;"  and,  same  Epistle 
ii.  9 — "  In  him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head bodily."  Of  Christians  it  is  said,  Eph.  iii.  19 
— "  That  ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of 
God."  Now  it  is  manifest,  that  if  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  is  God,  makes  an  actual  dwelling  of  the  bodies 
of  Christians,  that  living  up  in  action  to  their  privi- 
leges they  are  filled  v/ith  the  **  fulness  of  God," 
literally  and  truly;  if  the  body  of  Christ  was 
formed  by  the  spirit  of  God  in  the  womb  of  the 
virgin,  then  the  Spirit  dwells  in  him,  and  the  "  ful- 
ness of  the  Godhead  bodily,"  since  his  body  is 
framed  and  formed  of  the  spirit,  and  the  nature 
united  to  that  body  is  God  the  word.  But  if  the 
fulness  of  God  dwelling  in  us  be  a  metaphor 
for  knowledge,  wisdom,  and  spiritual  experience, 
which  are  of  God,  what  is  the  other  ?  Surel}^  it  is 
gone  as  an  argument  for  the  divinity  of  Christ. 


MERCY  TO  fiABHS.  109 

I  know  that  the  doctrine  contained  in  the  above 
is  forgotten,  obliterated,  clear  gone  out  of  mind-^ 
ordinary  Christians  have  let  it  glide  away  into  un- 
reality and  metaphor,  still  it  is  true.  I  know  many 
will  sneer  and  call  it  absurd,  I  cannot  help  this. 

I  shall,  therefore,  as  to  its  truth  and  reality, 
give  a  passage  from  one  of  a  different  class.  Here 
is  the  opinion  of  Novalin,  or  Hurdenberg,  as  quoted 
by  Thomas  Carlyle — the  one  a  German  mystic, 
the  other  a  pantheist,  or,  if  you  please,  an  atheist: 
"Knowest  thou  what  reverence  is  due  to  a  human 
body,  how  deep  a  mystery?  for  herein  the  most 
high  dwells  upon  earth  in  a  human  shape."  Alas, 
alas !  that  it  is  come  to  this — that  the  sentiment 
and  persuasion  of  Paul,  and  Peter,  and  the  Apos- 
tles, and  the  primitive  Church,  has  so  perished 
from  what  is  called  Christianity,  that  in  a  panthe- 
istic atheist  a  nearer  approach  can  be  found  to  it 
than  in  ordinary  Christians — that  they  should  take 
the  truth  for  a  metaphor,  and  be  the  atheist  for  a 
high  and  fruitful  reality. 

But  if  the  doctrine  be  true,  what  new  motives 
does  it  furnish  to  the  Christian?  Let  the  reader 
just  look  back  to  the  passages  quoted  by  St.  Paul, 
and  he  shall  see.  There  is,  no  doubt,  in  human 
nature  a  two-fold  tendency;  there  are  feelings, 
and  those  of  the  highest  of  our  nature,  by  which 
purity,  personally  and  actuall}^  is  encouraged,  and 
this  of  all  kinds  of  personal  purity,  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest ;  so  that  from  this  peculiar  class  of 
feelings  there  is  no  doubt  that  even  personal  clean- 
liness has  a  high  moral  and  religious  tendency— 


ilO  MERCY  TO  BAB^S. 

the  very  act  of  washing  has  a  moral  influence  upon 
the  body. 

Again,  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  low,  and  base, 
and  sensual  feeling  as  to  our  human  nature  and 
our  human  body,  is  one  of  the  very  first  incentives 
to  sin ;  this,  in  its  further  advance,  developes  itself 
in  courseness  and  filthiness  of  language,  debasing 
still  more  the  mind,  and  the  next  ready  step  is 
actual  sin.  Now  every  one  can  see  this  in  himself, 
he  can  see  that  the  idea  of  purity  and  delicacy 
attached  to  our  person  is  a  high  preservative  of 
moraUty — the  contrary  idea,  just  the  contrary* 
Thse  two  are  instincts  of  our  nature. 

Consider  then  how  these  natural  feelings  are 
supported  the  one,  and  suppressed  the  other,  by  the 
doctrine  above  mentioned  ;  a  strong  motive  this  to 
believe  that  the  doctrine  as  it  stands  is  true,  since 
the  same  God  that  made  man's  nature  also  made 
the  holy  scriptures.  'Christians,'  says  St.  Paul, 
*  the  Spirit  of  holiness  and  'purity  dwells  in  you, 
making  your  mortal  frame  a  temple  to  himself; ' 
how  can  you  then  defile  the  temple  of  him  who  is 
God  dwelling  in  you?  how  can  you  the  temple  of 
God  enter  within  the  temple  of  demons  ?  Must 
you  not  daily  and  hourly  watch  over  yourselves, 
and  mortify  the  inclinations  of  your  natural  body, 
which  is  now  sanctified  by  his  indwelling  ?  Every 
one  can  see  the  effect  of  the  truth  as  realized  by 
such  an  one  as  Paul. 

Again,  as  to  calmness,  quietness,  and  peace, 
look  at  it.  If  our  bodies  be  the  temple  of  the 
Spirit,  shall  we  have  recourse  to  vehement  strug- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  Ill 

gles  of  the  mind  and  imagination  that  we  may 
realize  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit?  if  the  Spirit  were 
without  us,  no  doubt  we  should  ;  if  only  when  we 
felt  peculiar  and  extraordinary  religious  emotions, 
then  were  we  under  his  influence,  no  doubt  our 
business  were  to  employ  all  external  means  for 
ever  to  seek  him  without  us.  But  we  can  be  free 
from  this  struggle,  for  believing  that  the  Spirit  of 
glory  and  God  resteth  upon  us,  "  we  ascend  not  up 
to  heaven  to  bring  Christ  down  from  above,  we 
descend,  not  into  the  deep  to  bring  him  again  from 
the  dead,  for  the  word  is  nigh  us,  even  in  our 
mouth  and  in  our  heart,  the  word  of  faith;"  and, 
therefore,  not  to  extraordinary  emotions  or  to 
intense  awakenings  of  conscience,  but  to  calm 
abidance  in  well-doing,  to  the  sanctification  of  the 
body  and  soul,  which  are  his,  do  we  trust.  And 
not  only  when  we  are  employed  in  religious  wor- 
ship, in  prayer  or  in  meditation  ;  but  when  we  are 
upon  our  daily  business,  when  we  eat,  when  we 
sleep,  then  is  the  spirit  dwelling  in  his  temple, 
ever  abiding,  ever  sanctifying.  Let  man  think 
upon  this  ;  how  high,  how  lofty  a  position  is  this, 
how  suitable  to  transform  into  the  Godlike  and 
divme  in  us  all  that  which  we  have  in  common 
with  other  animals  of  passions,  appetites  and 
desires. 

By  this  the  wife  is  sacred  and  reverend  in  the 
eyes  of  the  husband,  and  the  husband  in  the  eyea 
of  the  wife ;  by  this  our  children,  as  the  Apostle 
says,  are  holy  (1  Cor.  vii.  14) ;  by  this  the  unbe- 
lieving husband  is  sanctified  by  the  wife,  and  the 


112  MERCY  TO  BABE&. 

unbelieving  wife  by  the  husband  ;  by  this  the 
home  and  domestic  hearth,  so  dear  to  man's  heart, 
becomes  a  temple,  and  he  and  all  Christian  fathers 
thus  are  "a  royal  priesthood"  within  that  temple- 
home  ;  by  this  even  the  bread  that  we  eat,  the 
Christian  meal,  sanctified  by  prayer  and  thanks- 
giving, is  sacramental. 

But  men  have  lost  the  doctrine,  the  sentiment, 
therefore,  has  perished  and  cannot  be  realized, 
and  we  see  the  fruits  around  us.  The  men  of  old 
had  it,  the  doctrine  and  the  sentiment,  and  we  see 
what  a  difference  it  makes. 

This  leads  us  to  the  fourth  privilege  of  the 
Christian  in  covenant  with  God,  the  promise  of 
sufficient  grace.  What  is  meant  by  grace  ?  Per- 
sons say  such  and  such  a  man  is  a  subject  of  grace, 
when  he  begins  to  feel  strongly  on  the  subject  of 
religion.  This  is  limiting  it  to  consciousness  and 
the  feelings.  It  is  not  so:  grace  is  the  peculiar 
influence  upon  man  of  the  Spirit,  this  is  what  we 
know  of  it ;  it  is  compared  to  the  oil  of  the  lamp, 
to  the  life  in  man.  In  the  whole  scriptures  through, 
it  is  no  fitful  influence^  no  influence  that  operates  at 
random,  or  by  sudden  starts ;  the  Christian  has  it 
at  all  times  and  at  all  seasons,  hy  virtue  of  being  in 
the  covenant.  His  natural  feelings  ebb  and  flow,  his 
physical  temperament  varies,  influences  from  with- 
out will  cause  joy  or  sadness  to  predominate ;  but 
for  all  these  variations  of  temper  and  circumstances 
there  is,  if  he  knew  it  aright,  a  sufficient  supply  of 
the  assistance  of  the  Spirit  given  to  him.  The 
secret  channel  may  pass  unseen  down  the  steep 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  113 

descents  of  affliction  and  the  lowly  vallies  of  hu- 
miliation»  still  to  the  one  level  it  arises,  that  of  his 
needs  and  his  position.  "  Unto  every  one  of  us  is 
given  grace  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of 
Christ;"  that  is,  according  to  the  measure  of  the 
Spirit,  who  is  the  gift  of  Christ — the  Spirit  divideth 
to  every  one  as  he  will.  And  again,  "  My  grace 
is  sufficient  for  thee,"  he  says  to  St.  Paul. 

Now,  unto  what  is  that  grace  sufficient?  We 
answer,  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  law  of  the  covenant 
of  Christ,  the  law  of  his  kingdom,  of  which  we  are 
subjects,  the  law  of  grace  ;  for  herein  is  the  differ- 
ence between  the  old  covenant  and  the  new,  that 
the  law  under  the  old  covenant  was  an  outward 
thing,  but  the  new  law,  to  which  we  can  be  obe- 
dient, is  a  law  in  our  hearts.  That  by  the  law 
of  Moses  man  could  not  be  justified,  is  plainly 
asserted  in  the  scriptures  ;  that  not  by  the  law  of 
our  nature,  (virtue  is  the  law  of  man's  nature,)  is 
also,  by  the  experience  of  each  man,  manifest.  But 
the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  Life  in  Jesus  Christ,  (Rom. 
viii.  10) — the  royal  law,  (James  ii.  8) — the  perfect 
law  of  liberty,  (James  i.  25) — this  is  the  law  of 
God's  Spirit  in  the  heart  of  the  covenanted  Chris- 
tian ;  and  at  the  same  time  it  is  a  law  prescribing 
actions,  and  a  power  giving  ability  to  perform  its 
prescription  ;  an  inward  law  conforming  to  the 
outward  law  of  God's  word,  a  transcript,  as  it 
were,  upon  man's  heart  of  his  revelation.  This 
is  the  sufficiency  given  to  the  Christian — a  suffi- 
ciency accordmg  to  his  sphere  to  walk  on  in  the 
path  of  his  duty  towards  God  and  man,  justified 


114  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

by  his  faith  in  Christ,  and  the  works,  not  of  any 
law  of  man,  or  law  of  nature,  but  of  the  law  of 
Christ.  For  justified  he  is  by  faith  and  by  works  ; 
by  faith  which  apprehends  Christ  as  his  king,  and 
by  works  according  to  his  royal  law. 

The  next  benefit  of  the  Christian  covenant  is 
the  reception  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and 
although  this  be  mainly  given  by  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  supper,  still  to  none  is  it  given  but  to 
those  within  the  Christian  covenant;  and  for  so 
great  a  gift  it  would  seem  that  the  supernatural 
gift  of  life,  the  principle,  as  we  have  before  ex- 
plained, is  the  proper  preparation.  Baptism, 
therefore,  is  the  door  unto  this,  as  to  all  the  gifts 
of  the  Christian  covenant,  that  entrance  by  which 
we  must  come  in  if  we  would  reach  unto  it.  This 
is  an  actual  and  real  privilege,  an  actual  and  real 
partaking  of  the  blood  of  Christ  and  its  benefits. 
The  atonement  of  Christ  is  hereby  applied,  and 
the  temper  and  tone  of  Christ,  as  during  his 
incarnation,  he  showed  himself  upon  earth,  im- 
planted in  us.  This  grace  of  his  body  and  blood 
is  truly  and  really  the  source  and  spring  of  all  the 
Christ-like  tempers  in  us ;  for  as  the  good  tree 
grafted  upon  the  old  stock  will  produce  good  fruit, 
so  the  human  nature  of  our  Lord  is  upon  our  human 
nature,  as  it  were,  truly  and  really  ingrafted  ;  so 
that  we  abide  in  Christ  as  "  branches  in  the  vine," 
as  "limbs  to  the  body,"  as  the  body  to  the  head; 
and  thereby  the  graces  of  his  human  nature,  the 
only  perfect  and  sinless  humanity  that  ever  has 
been,  are  propagated  in  us. 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  115 

Another  effect  of  this  is,  that  thereby  we  arise 
again  unto  life.  "  Whosoever  eateth  my  body  and 
drinketh  my  blood,  hath  eternal  life,  and  I  will  raise 
him  up  at  the  last  day."  Men  ordinarily  believe  in 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  for  Christianity  has 
forced  upon  man  this  doctrine,  so  that  even  infidels 
cannot  deny  it.  There  is  an  infidel  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection ;  the  infidel  doctrine  is  this — the  beasts 
are  animals,  who  by  their  organization  arise  not 
again,  and  men  are  animals,  who  by  their  organi- 
zation do  arise.  The  Christian  doctrine  is  this, 
that  all  men  arise  by  the  poiver  of  Christ ;  the 
wicked  even  by  the  same  power.  That  our  Lord 
went  down  into  the  grave,  and  for  this  arose  that 
by  his  omnipotence  he  should  cause  all  men  to 
arise.  This  is  the  plain  doctrine  of  the  scripture, 
and  not  the  organization — doctrine.  And  then  that 
in  the  good  his  body  and  blood  are  the  seed  of 
eternal  life,  whereby  they  arise  unto  life  everlast- 
ing. Objections  may  be  started  to  this  of  course ; 
I  do  not  meddle  with  them.  This  is  the  plain 
doctrine  of  the  scriptures,  and  no  where  is  the 
resurrection  of  any  man,  bad  or  good,  in  the  holy 
scriptures  attributed  to  organization,  or  to  any 
other  cause  than  the  power  of  Christ's  resurrection. 
Suffice  it  then  for  me  to  believe  it. 

Again,  as  a  benefit  of  the  covenant ;  its  children 
are  admitted  to  the  guardianship  of  angels,  and  if 
obedient  to  the  Spirit,  and  therefore  holy,  to  the 
communion  of  saints.  An  express  assertion  there 
is  of  this  as  a  privilege  of  the  new  covenant  in 
Heb.  xii.  22, 23.   After  speaking  of  Sinai — it  will  be 


116  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

remembered  that  in  a  previously  quoted  passage, 
Sinai  was  typical  of  the  old  covenant — *'  but  ye,'* 
says  the  apostle,  "  are  come  unto  mount  Sion,  (that 
is,  the  new  covenant,)  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living 
God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable 
company  of  angels^  to  the  general  assembly  and 
Church  of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in 
heaven,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect;  " 
plainly  asserting  the  guardianship  of  angels  as  one 
of  the  privileges  of  individual  Christians  under  the 
new  covenant;  plainly  asserting  too,  that  under 
that  covenant  the  spirit  of  the  righteous  dead  com- 
mune with  our  unconscious  souls,  take  an  interest 
in  us,  and  are  aware  of  our  situation.  And  indeed, 
our  Lord  himself,  in  a  saying  of  his,  asserts  the 
same :  he  says,  "  take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  one 
of  these  little  ones ;  for  I  say  unto  you,  that  in 
heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of 
my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  (Matt,  xviii.  10.) 
From  which  most  plainly  we  draw  the  conclusion, 
that  each  Christian  has  a  peculiar  angelic  attendant 
allotted  as  minister  unto  him ;  and  from  the  second 
clause,  that  this  angel  is  a  guardian  to  him  in  life. 
The  impression  of  the  old  Church  was  this, 
that  at  the  baptism^  then  was  the  angelic  minister 
allotted  to  him  for  the  course  of  his.  life.  Moreover, 
they  believed  that  then,  by  the  baptismal  water, 
and  by  the  seal  of  the  cross  then  imprinted,  was 
placed  upon  his  brow  a  character  perpetually 
remaining,  which,  to  the  angels  and  ministers  of 
God  walking  to  and  fro  upon  the  earth,  was  the 
evidence  of  his  citizenship  in  the  heavenly  kingdom. 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  117 

A  motive,  perhaps,  that  will  be  sneered  at  by  those 
who  have  not  heard  of  it  before;  but  when  1  con- 
sider that  the  baptism,  in  the  water,  is  an  actual 
washing  in  Christ's  blood ;  when  I  think  how  the 
blood  upon  the  Untels  of  the  Paschal  Lamb,  typi- 
cal, as  it  is  well  known,  of  Christ's  blood,  was  a 
sign  to  the  angel  that  that  house  should  be  passed 
over;  I  certainly  do  not  think  the  opinion  in  any 
degree  an  improbable  one  ;  and,  candidly  to  speak, 
I  consider  it  to  be  true. 

And  then  the  Christian,  if  of  the  holy  and  true, 
has  communion  with  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect ;  not  a  prayer  arises  to  the  throne  on  high, 
but  he  has  a  living  interest  in  it ;  not  one  of  the 
holy  and  the  best,  even  in  the  remotest  ends  of  the 
earth,  but  his  spirit  flows  forth  to  their's  with  a 
secret  influence  and  sympathy,  which,  although 
he  be  unconscious  of  it,  is  not  the  less  real;  and 
their's  again  returns  unto  him  laden  with  blessings. 
The  clouds  that  fall  upon  my  land  here  may  have 
arisen  in  the  broad  Atlantic  or  the  far  Pacific,  yet 
here  they  have  fallen,  and  here  is  their  blessing. 
So  the  aid  that  comes  to  me  in  my  weakness  and 
my  distress,  may  have  come  from  the  solemn 
litanies  and  prayers  of  the  holy  in  the  remotest 
ends  of  the  earth. 

Then  our  liturgic  prayers,  so  general,  as  they 
seem  to  those  who  pray  "  for  Colonel  Jacob  Jones, 
who  has  so  helped  the  people  of  God,"  for  "  the 
dear  brother  who  preceded  me  in  prayer,  and  so 
fruitfully  ministers  to  this  congregation,"  to  "  con- 
vert, O  Lord,  the  soul  of  Sarah  Ward  ;  "  then  our 


118  MERCY  TO  BABilS. 

prayers,  that  to  these  folkg  seem  so  general  and 
uninteresting,  assume  quite  a  different  aspect  when 
viewed  with  the  feeling  upon  us,  of  the  communion 
of  saints.  And  when  we  think  that  v/ith  the  spirits 
of  just  men  made  perfect,  we  have  communion, 
actual  and  true  ;  when  the  thought  burst  upon  us, 
that  of  our  departed  friends,  we  are  not  therefore 
left  alone  when  they  die,  even  as  to  locality,  but 
that  were  our  eyes  unsealed,  we  should  view  them 
by  us ;  how  does  it  make  a  heaven  of  earth,  and 
embalm  them  to  us.  What  thoughts  of  love  to  the 
brother  it  suggests,  or  the  sister,  or  the  son  of  the 
departed,  "  they  are  not  gone,  they  are  not  van- 
ished ;  but  although  we  see  them  not,  still  have  we 
communion  with  them."  The  mother  who  was 
taken  away  from  the  child  whom  she  had  began 
to  train  in  the  ways  of  God  ;  she  may  have  been 
taken  away  in  order  to  train  him  all  the  better, 
through  her  spiritual  influence  upon  his  soul.  The 
father  dead  may  still  guide  the  son  in  God's  holy 
ways,  and  the  love  of  the  wife  to  the  husband,  of 
the  husband  to  the  wife,  may  still  last  and  still 
endure. 

And  this  last,  (I  am  fond  of  these  old  Christian 
feelings  and  opinions,  they  have  all  a  touch  of 
nobleness,  a  tenderness  of  sentiment  and  of  heart 
about  them,  which  I  rather  like,  and  do  not  see  in 
modern  religion,)  was  the  cause  of  a  very  prevalent 
sentiment  among  the  old  Christians  in  favor  of  only 
one  marriage,  of  which  a  trace  may  be  seen  in  St. 
Paul's  advice,  that  a  bishop  should  be  the  husband 
of  one  wife,  a  thing  plainly  absurd,  if  we  interpret 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  119 

it  of  only  one  at  a  time,  for  if  he  had  more  he  could 
not  be  in  Christian  communion,  or  be  qualified 
even  for  baptism. 

These  then  are  the  privileges  of  Christiun  bap- 
tism as  laid  down  in  the  scriptures,  and  of  the 
Christian  covenant,  unto  which  baptism  is  the 
entrance.  These,  and  not  those  other  notions, 
**  that  baptism  is  a  form  of  profession  and  nothing 
more,  and  that  we  do  it  only  because  it  is  a  com- 
tnanded  ordinance."  All  these  privileges,  as  the 
reader  will  have  seen,  are  plainly  asserted  in  the 
express  words  of  scripture.  All  spiritual  privileges 
belonging  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  not  one  of 
them  proveable  by  any  earthly  arguments,  or 
tangible  to  our  senses  in  any  way,  but  declared  by 
the  word  of  God,  and  received  by  faith. 

Well,  but  you  may  say,  I  have  known  many 
baptized  persons,  and  in  none  of  them  have  I  seen 
any  evidence  of  these  things. 

Now  there  are  two  things  to  be  answered  to 
this.  First,  What  hind  o/haptism  were  they  baptized 
with  ? 

At  Christ's  coming  there  was  the  baptism  of 
John,  **  a  baptism  of  repentance,  that  they  should 
believe  in  him  that  came  after,"  a  baptism  which 
was  both  of  repentance  and  faith,  as  we  see  by 
this  passage,  and  the  other  above  cited,  in  which 
Paul  asks  them,  "  had  they  received  the  Holy 
Ghost  since  they  believed? ^^  implying  most  plainly, 
that  those  baptized  with  John's  baptism  had  faith 
as  well  as  repentance.  Secondly,  There  was  the 
Christian  baptism  with  a.ll  these  privileges.     Now 


120  ^  MERCY  TO  BABES* 

what  baptism  do  the  various  non-Episcopal  sects 
preach  and  administer?  is  it  not  tliis  baptism,  the 
baptism  of  faith  and  repentance,  without  any  thing 
else  ?  Do  they  not  in  their  universal  doctrine 
declare,  that  it  is  nothing  else  ;  that  it,  as  baptism, 
has  no  one  of  the  privileges  attached  to  it  that  I 
have  specified  ;  how  am  I,  therefore,  to  expect  in 
that  which  by  its  very  terms,  and  the  description 
of  those  that  minister  it,  as  well  by  the  want  of 
apostolic  authority,  is  the  baptism  of  John,  the 
effects  of  the  other?  Certainly  I  cannot.  They 
that  make  the  objection,  most  likely  make  it  from 
instances  they  have  seen  of  those  who  had  this 
kind  of  baptism. 

Again,  with  regard  to  the  Church  and  her  hap- 
tism ;  of  those  privileges  some  are  to  be  seen  and 
employed  by  faith,  others  are  in  their  effects  only 
to  be  known  as  to  the  causes  in  heaven.  For 
instance,  the  faithful  only  eat  the  Lord's  body,  and 
they  who  discern  it  not  do  not  eat  it,  because  they 
have  not  the  faith  which  is  requisite.  The  guar- 
dianship of  angels,  the  communion  of  saints,  we 
have  no  possible  evidence  by  experience  ;  as  to 
them,  we  must  go  upon  pure  faith.  Now  our  dis- 
senting brethren  will  acknowledge  that  there  are 
holy,  and  pious,  and  good  men  in  the  Episcopal 
Church.  They  have  laid  it  down  themselves  as 
an  axiom,  that  none  are  such  but  the}^  that  have 
gone  through  the  peculiar  process  called  conversion, 
and  that  none  can  be  converted  but  they  must 
know  it.  Now,  of  those  men  and  women  that  they 
acknowledge  pious  and  holy  in  the  Church,  nine 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  121 

oat  of  ten  will  tell  you  that  they  never  went  through 
that  peculiar  process,  and  they  know  they  never 
did. 

How,  then,  did  they  obtain  their  station  ?  It 
will,  I  think,  be  a  sufficient  reason,  that  repenting 
of  their  sins,  and  having  faith  in  Christ  as  their 
Saviour,  they  received  the  one  baptism  for  the  re- 
mission of  sins.  The  principle  of  spiritual  life  was 
implanted  in  them  by  the  Holy  Ghost  and  by  the 
water;  they  entered  within  the  ark  of  God's  Church  ; 
in  which,  '^  having  exceeding  great  and  precious 
privileges,"  that  the  Holy  Ghost  should  dwell  in 
them ;  that  he  should  supply  them  with  sufficient 
grace ;  that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  should 
be  received  by  them  unto  eternal  life,  and  the 
resurrection  at  the  last  day ;  and,  lastly,  that  they 
should  come  under  the  guardianship  of  the  holy 
anfrels,  and  into  the  communion  of  the  saints  on 
earth  and  the  saints  in  heaven.  These  thmgs, 
methinks,  should  be  as  true  founts  and  sources  of 
holiness  and  piety,  as  ever  I  have  seen  at  revivals 
or  camp-meetings. 

And  to  those  who  will  tell  me  that  these  means 
fail  often,  or  that  the  subjects  of  them  fail,  which 
prove  them  unreal,  I  say  boldly,  they  never  faiU 
except  in  the  case  of  sin  of  such  a  character  "as 
to  be  unto  death."  And  as  a  proof  of  this,  I  will 
show  the  fact,  that  of  the  baptized  who  have  faith 
to  discern  their  privileges  and  their  duties  in  the 
Church,  that  of  those  who,  instructed  by  the 
Church,  come  forward  to  that  ordinance  which 
perfects  all  those  privileges,  and  is  the  great  test 
6 


122  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

of  Christian  faith — for  faith  in  the  covenant  has 
many  important  differences  from  faith  outside  it — 
that  of  them  there  is  not  one  fails,  for  twenty  among 
the  sects,  who  have  been  declared  "  converted.'* 
Of  this  fact  every  Episcopal  clergymen,  who  knows 
any  thing  of  the  sects,  can  bear  sufficient  witness — 
so  that  the  comparison  is  in  our  favor. 

We  all  know  the  way  this  fact  is  got  over ;  the 
broad  declaration,  that  the  Christian  man  or  woman, 
a  communicant  in  the  Church,  who  goes  on  in  the 
path  of  duty  as  a  good  father,  or  husband,  or  son, 
mother,  wife,  or  daughter,  quietly  and  calmly  doing 
his  duty  in  the  sphere  where  God  has  placed  him, 
without  talking  of  feelings  and  experience,  is  no 
Christian,  forsooth. 

We  are  content  it  should  be  so  asserted  ;  in  the 
mean  time,  upon  God's  ordinance,  which  we  have 
approached  with  repentance  from  our  sins,  and 
faith  in  Christ  as  our  Saviour,  upon  it  and  its 
privileges  we  shall  rest,  and  the  doctrines  that 
belong  to  it  we  shall  believe  in,  and  our  progress 
will  be  accordingly. 

To  those  in  our  own  Church  who  may  perhaps 
be  startled  by  some  of  these  things,  and  who  never 
have  considered  the  practical  use  of  baptism,  I 
would  just  add  these  few  words  from  an  old 
author. 

*'  I  add  this  in  the  close,  that  baptism  is  of 
special  use  through  a  Christian's  whole  life.  Ic  is 
but  once  administered,  but  the  virtue  and  efficacy 
thereof  grows  not  old  by  time. 

"1st.  In  all  thy  fears  and  doubts  look  to  thy 


MERCY   TO  BABES.  123 

baptism  and  the  promises  of  God  then  sealed  to 
thee.  Lay  hold  on  them  by  faith,  and  thou  mayest 
have  actual  comfort. 

<*  2d.  In  all  thy  failings,  slips,  and  revolts,  to 
recover  the  sooner,  look  to  thy  baptism.  New- 
baptism  shall  not  need ;  the  covenant  and  seal  of 
God  stands  firm  and  changeth  not. 

*'  3d.  Renew  thy  repentance,  renew  thy  faith  in 
those  blessed  promises  of  grace  sealed  and  secured 
in  baptism,  and  then  expect  all  good  from  God's 
free  mercies  in  Christ,  although  thy  performances 
fall  very  short;  though  thou   art  an  unprofitable 


CHAPTER    III. 


PART  II. 


Application  of  the  previous  Chapters  of  Part  II. — Spiritual  Benefits 
of  Infant  Baptiem. 

We  have  discussed  in  the  previous  chapters  the 
doctrine  of  baptism,  with  a  view  to  the  question, 
what  use  is  baptism  in  a  spiritual  point  of  view 
generally?  that  is,  to  all  capable  of  baptism.  We 
brought  forward  two  notions,  which,  in  our  esti- 
mate, serves  to  blind  men,  being  held  as  principles 
of  scripture,  and  not  being  so  ;  the  notion  that  bap- 
tism is  a  mere  declaration  of  faith,  having  in  itself 
no  privileges,  and  then  the  other,  that  plainly  fol- 
lows from  the  first,  "  that  onl}'-  because  of  its  being 
an  ordinance,  and  commanded,  are  men  baptized  ;'* 
we  asked  for  the  scripture  proofs  of  these  notions, 
and  showed  that  none  such  exist;  we  brought 
forward  then  a  list  of  texts  plainly  asserting  that 
baptism  has  privileges  attached  to  it,  and  from 
them  we  educed  the  doctrines  regarding  baptism. 

Now  if  baptism  has,  according  to  these  notions, 
no  privileges,  then  men  need  not  be  baptized  at  all. 
For,  first,  there  is  no  command  to  baptize  all  believers, 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  125 

only  an  inference  from  practice,  which  we  cannot 
prove  to  have  been  universal ;  and,  secondly,  it 
would  be  very  absurd  to  think  that  Christ  should 
command  an  ordinance  which  is  of  no  effect  only 
as  a  profession,  when  profession  may  be  made  in 
so  many  different  ways.  This,  we  believe,  is  the 
argument  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  an  argument 
we  see  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  rid  of  upon  the 
above  premises. 

Secondly,  we  showed  most  plainly,  that  if 
baptism  be  only  of  use  as  a  profession,  infants 
need  not  be  baptized  at  all — every  motive  for  bap- 
tizing them  is  cut  away. 

And  in  opposition  to  both  these  notions,  we 
brought  forward  the  idea  of  a  covenant  between 
God  and  man,  as  the  basis  of  the  scriptural  system 
of  a  true  and  real  covenant ;  we  showed  its  agree- 
ment with  the  rest  of  the  scriptures,  its  uses  and 
advantages,  and  showed  the  relation  baptism  bore 
to  it  as  its  seal  of  admission.  We  took  then  the 
effects  attributed  to  baptism  in  the  scriptures,  its 
doctrines,  in  other  words,  and  showed  them  plainly 
the  privileges  of  the  covenant,  and  showed  that 
to  them  baptism  is  the  door  of  admission.  ^.Now 
the  Christian  can  apply  them  to  the  case  of  infants 
for  himself. 

But,  however,  as  all  men  may  not  take  the 
trouble,  we  shall  apply  them,  and  let  the  Christian 
examine  our  applications  of  them.  In  the  first 
place,  from  the  very  form,  baptism  is  a  dedication 
on  the  part  of  the  minister  unto  God.  I  will  ask 
the  Christian,  if  under  the  old  law  lihe  first  horn  of 


126  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

every  animal  was  dedicated  to  God,  cannot  the 
infant,  unspotted  by  actual  sin,  be  dedicated  unto 
him  ?  If  under  the  old  law  the  child,  the  first  born, 
was  sanctified  unto  the  Lord,  (Exodus  xiii.  12,)  and 
because  it  should  have  been  a  sacrifice  was  re- 
deemed, cannot  we,  as  Christians,  sanctify  them 
to  God  whom  "  Christ,  the  first  born  among  many 
brethren,"  has  redeemed  by  his  sacrifice  ?  more 
especially  since  the  apostle  has  declared  all  chil- 
dren of  Christians  to  have  the  same  privileges  as 
the  first  born  of  Israel — "Your  children  are  holy." 
Cannot  these,  then,  much  more  be  brought  into  the 
temple  of  God  and  dedicated  to  him,  by  him  who 
ministers  there  in  God's  name  and  by  God's  au- 
thority? Can  he  not  take  them  in  his  arms  and 
bless  them,  for  baptism  is  a  blessing,  and  lay  his 
hands  upon  them  whom  Christ  his  master  took  in 
his  arms  and  blessed  ?  Can  he  not  dedicate  them 
who  are  commanded  not  to  be  prevented  from 
coming  to  him,  when  he  knows  that  "  where  two 
or  three  are  gathered  together,  there  is  he  in  the 
midst ;"  and  that  if  this  promise  be  true  they  can 
come  to  him  th  re  present  in  the  midst  of  his  wor- 
shipping people  in  his  temple?  Simply  considering 
baptism  in  the  light  of  a  blessing  and  a  dedication, 
there  is  nothing  to  prevent  its  being  given  to  chil- 
dren, even  to  babes. 

And  add  to  this,  that  they  are  free  from  the 
guilt  of  actual  sin,  that  they  too  are  redeemed  by 
the  blood  of  Christ,  that  they  have  immortal  souls, 
that  "  as  the  soul  of  the  father  is  mine,  so  is  the 
soul  of  the  son  mine,"  all  these  things  show  the 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  1S7 

propriety  of  the  priest  offering  and  dedicating  to 
God  the  soul  of  that  unspeaking  babe. 

And  the  parents,  too,  have  they  not  the  power 
of  dedicating  their  children  to  God  ?  If  Hannah, 
under  the  old  law,  could  vow  her  child  to  God,  even 
before  he  was  born — "  If  thou  wilt  give  me  a  child, 
then  will  I  give  him  to  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  his 
life  ;"  if  the  Nazarite  could  be  vowed  unto  God  in 
his  infancy,  and  God  fulfilled  that  vow,  cannot  the 
child  of  Christian  parents  be  vowed  and  dedicated 
by  his  parents  to  Him  ? 

History  is  full  of  it,  the  history  of  the  Church 
and  the  bible.  And  so  fully  do  I  believe  in  that 
principle,  that  I  say  to  Christian  mothers  and  fa- 
thers, vow  your  children  to  God  in  his  temple, 
dedicate  them  to  him  with  prayer  and  in  haptism, 
and  your  vow  shall  not  fail.  In  the  strength  of 
your  faith  say  unto  the  Eternal — "  Here,  in  God's 
temple,  to  the  Father  almighty,  to  the  Son,  who 
has  redeemed  the  child,  here  present- — here  present 
if  the  promise  be  true — do  I  vow  and  dedicate  my 
child,  by  the  hands  of  God's  minister" — and  tha 
vow  shall  not  fail. 

And  this  is  a  thing  forgotten  through  the  want 
of  faith  at  the  present  time,  the  power  of  a  parent's 
vows  at  the  time  of  baptism,  a  thing  well  known 
to  those  of  old.  And  as  a  point  of  practical  Chris- 
tianity, no  child  of  a  faithful  parent  should  be 
without  the  precious  benefit  of  the  parent's  vow  at 
the  time  of  its  baptism.  The  doctrine  of  the  scrip- 
ture allows  it,  God's  promise  is  to  it,  the  natural 
heart  speaks  in  its  favor. 


128  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

Again,  have  not  the  prayers  of  the  congregation, 
for  the  blessings  promised,  some  effect,  if  it  be  true 
"  that  if  two  or  three  shall  agree  upon  any  thing, 
it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven,"  when  they  seek  for  spiritual  blessings 
upon  the  babe  so  dedicated  ?  Surely  the  Father 
almighty  can  answer  these  prayers,  and  direct  the 
stream  of  providence  upon  the  babe,  so  *'  that  all 
things  shall  work  together  for  its  good  ;  surely  the 
Son,  who  hath  redeemed  it,  can  apply  his  redeem- 
ing blood  to  it ;  surely  he  "  who  sanctified  the 
Baptist  from  his  mother's  womb,"  the  Holy  Spirit, 
can  sanctify  babes  as  well  as  men ;  surely  thy 
strong  faith  shall  bind  the  whole  Trinity  to  that 
helpless  babe  who,  being  a  babe,  hath  no  means 
of  access  to  the  teachings  of  men,  yet,  being  an 
immortal  soul,  is  capable  of  the  providential  inter- 
position of  the  Almighty  Father,  the  redemption 
wrought  out  by  the  Almighty  Son,  the  influences 
of  the  Holy  and  Almighty,  who  can  sanctify  even 
the  unborn. 

And  so  dedicated,  so  vowed,  the  parent  shall 
look  upon  the  child  as  such,  and  in  faith  rejoice  in 
the  vow  and  dedication ;  for,  as  the  psalmist  says, 
"  Thou  art  the  God  that  performest  the  vow." 

And,  again,  are  not  children  capable  of  the 
covenant?  They  were  circumcised  under  the  old 
law,  and  members  of  the  covenant.  Yes,  men  say, 
but  this  was  a  Jewish  ordinance.  Well,  it  was 
an  ordinance  appointed  by  God  for  the  Jews, 
certainly;  but  stdl  an  actual  and  real  covenant 
between  God  and  man,  binding  God  as  well  as 


ME  tic  Y  TO  BABES.  129 

man.  And  if  God,  by  a  covenant,  can  be  bound 
to  a  babe,  without  the  babe  knowing  any  thing  of 
it,  surely  he  can  be  bound  now,  if  the  Christian 
covenant  be  a  true  covenant.  But  circumcision 
was  a  natural  thing :  well,  we  are  declared  to 
"  have  a  circumcision  too,"  though  not  made  with 
hands ;  we  are  declared  also  to  be  a  "  holy  nation," 
by  St.  Peter. 

But  the  old  covenant  concerned  temporal  things 
only :  so  it  did,  and  yet  circumcision  is  declared 
to  be  the  "  seal  of  the  righteousness  which  is  by 
faith." 

Well,  but  children  are  not  capable  of  the  cove- 
nant of  Christianity,  for  they  have  not  faith,  they 
have  not  repentance :  they  have  not  repentance, 
for  they  have  not  committed  actual  sin — repentance 
is  sorrow  for  actual  sin.  Now  the  qualities  that 
make  sin  an  impediment  to  a  covenant  with  God 
are  two,  the  guilt,  and  the  stain  of  actual  sin  ;  hav- 
ing not  sinned  actually,  they  have  neither.  Is  not 
their  freedom  from  actual  guilt,  and  freedom  from 
actual  stain,  a  better  qualification  than  sorrow  for 
them  ? 

The}^  have  not  faith  :  surely  they  have  not,  but 
the  prayer  of  others  is  efficient  to  the  remission  of 
sins,  actual  as  well  as  original. 

So,  then,  we  have  babes  free  from  actual  sin, 
and  therefore  needing  no  repentance  ;  we  have  faith 
sufficient  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  even  in  others ;  we 
have  it,  the  evidence  of  things  unseen,  the  sub- 
stance of  things  hoped  for,  and  that  by  the  scrip- 
tures, to  others  as  well  as  ourselves.  Shall  it  not 
6* 


130  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

confer  upon  the  babe,  who  is  free  from  "guilt" 
and  "  stain,'*  the  unseen  and  spiritual  blessings  of 
the  covenant  ?  Shall  it  not  substantiate  the  hopes, 
supported  by  prayers,  of  them  who  dedicate  it? 
Surely,  if  there  be  any  power  in  faith  or  prayer, 
it  shall. 

But  others  undertake  promises  for  them,  that 
they  shall  do  so  and  so — is  not  this  a  thing  absurd? 
Not  at  all,  when  we  consider  ourselves  under  the 
law  of  God  ;  under  the  law  of  man  the  same  thing 
is  done  daily,  as  we  see  mortgages  and  bonds  in 
the  name  of  children  ;  not  at  all,  when  we  consider 
the  effects  of  a  vow,  and  that  to  it,  made  in  faith 
by  the  parents,  the  disposition  to  fulfil  the  engage- 
ment taken  by  the  parent  in  the  name  of  the  child, 
is  given  ;  not  at  all,  when  we  consider  Almighty 
God  as  the  disposer  of  all  events,  and  the  Almighty 
Spirit  as  the  sanetifier  of  the  hearts,  as  well  of 
babes  as  of  full  grown  men. 

Nor  is  it  contrary  to  the  holy  scriptures  in  other 
parts.  Moses  bound  by  covenant  the  little  ones  as 
well  as  their  fathers  to  enter  into  covenant  with  the 
Lord  their  God,  and  "  into  his  oath,  which  the  Lord 
thy  God  maketh  with  thee  this  day,"  not  the  cove- 
nant of  circumcision,  for  they  had  been  circum- 
cised before,  but  the  vow  to  act  and  do  according 
to  the  words  of  God's  law.  (Deut.  xxix.  11,  xxxi. 
10 — 13.)  Jehosaphat  brought  up  to  his  fast  all 
Israel,  with  their  wives  and  their  children.  And 
the  people  of  Nineveh  proclaimed  a  fast,  from  the 
greatest  to  the  least.  (Jonah  iii.  5.)  Surely  then, 
if  these  things  are  so,  and  faith  is  what  it  is  asserted 


Mercy  to  babes.  1^1 

to  be,  the  father,  or  mother,  or  sponsor,  can  justly 
engage  for  the  children,  and  trust  in  God  for  the 
fulfilment. 

Of  course,  we  cannot  engage  for  those  who 
wilfully  cast  the  covenant  behind  them,  who  do 
despite  to  the  Spirit  of  God.  We  know  that  there 
are  and  will  be  apostates,  yet,  too,  we  know  that 
those  apostates  are  such  in  despite  of  the  means  of 
grace.  Certainly  it  is  folly  to  abstain  from  using 
the  means  because  we  fear  men  may  be  such. 
Christ  knew  that  Judas  would  be,  or  was  a  devil. 
lie  chose;  are  we  to  exclude  infants  free  from  actual 
sin,  because  one  of  them  may  be  a  Judas  ?  Surely 
experience  has  shown  us  that  adults,  as  Judas,  are 
just  as  likely  as  infants  to  fall.  Shall  we  exclude 
infants,  therefore,  all  of  them  *? 

But,  lastly,  a  great  argument  to  our  introducing 
infants  into  the  covenant  is,  that  in  the  covenant 
are  given  the  means  of  grace  for  fulfilling  its  con- 
ditions, aids  and  assistances  which  they  have  not 
outside  it.  This  is  plainly  laid  down  in  the  past 
chapter,  and  in  the  following  part  of  this  I  shall 
show  that  of  all  these  aids  and  helps,  there  is  not 
one  of  which  infants,  even  the  babe  of  a  day  old, 
is  not  capable.  In  the  mean  time,  I  refer  back- 
ward to  the  last  chapter,  or  onward  to  the  next, 
and  I  ask  the  Christian,  are  not  all  these  privileges 
spiritually  attached  to  baptism  and  the  covenant, 
aids  to  fulfil  its  conditions,  and  all  possible  to 
children? 

These,  then,  are  the  reasons  why  we  consider 
children  capable  of  the  covenant:  Because,  under 


132  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

the  old  law,  they  were  capable  of  a  covenant  bind- 
ing God  to  them;  because,  this  was  a  covenant  of 
promise,  and  they  were  capable  of  the  promises ; 
because,  they  have  in  the  case  of  repentance  a 
better  title,  in  the  case  of  faith  as  good  as  adults ; 
because,  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  nature  of 
faith,  and  the  nature  of  vows  to  God,  that  men 
should  promise  to  God  for  another,  although  he  be 
unconscious  of  it,  and  God,  as  he  has  shown,  will 
bring  it  about — and  this  binding  the  unconscious  to 
an  oath  and  engaging  ibr  them,  is  a  thing  of  which 
we  have  brouglit  instances  ;  and  because  the  same 
motive  (which  I  must  call  an  evidence  of  weak 
faith,  or  rather  no  faith)  that  would  induce  us  to 
reject  all  infants,  because  they  may,  in  the  course 
of  life,  fall  away,  would  also  induce  us  to  reject  all 
adults. 

And  because,  within  and  by  the  covenant 
and  its  seal,  are  given  aids  to  fulfil  its  conditions, 
which  are  not  to  be  had  by  those  outside.  He  that 
will  consider  these  things,  and  put  by  them  the 
nature  of  a  covenant  as  binding  both  parties,  the 
person  and  the  Almighty,  and  the  nature  of  faith,  he 
w^ho  looks  at  these  things,  must  conclude  that  the 
children  of  Christians  are  capable  of  the  covenant. 

But,  besides  this,  in  the  book  of  the  Acts,  child- 
ren are  expressly  offered  the  covenant  of  baptism. 
Peter  said — "Repent,  and  be  baptized,  every  one 
of  you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  Hol}^  Ghost. 
Fo7'  the  p-omise  is  to  you  and  your  children.^^  A  text 
which  plainly  holds  out  tc  the  children  the  cove- 


MERCY   TO  BABES.  133 

nant — the  covenant  promised  by  the  prophets — as , 
one  to  themselves  and  their  children,  and  baptism  as 
its  seal,  as  applicable  to  babes  as  to  men. 

*'  The  'promise  is  to  you  and  to  your  children,^^  the 
promise  of  a  new  covenant;  you  are  Jews,  and  both 
you  and  your  children  are  promised  it.  Therefore 
says  Peter — "  Since  it  is  to  you  and  them,  we  shall 
admit  you  and  keep  them  out,  and  baptize  every 
one  excepting  them,  although  in  our  discourse  we 
have  said  nothing  about  it!"  The  discourse  of 
Peter,  considering  that  the  promise  was  that  of  a 
new  covenant,  considering  that  they  were  Jews 
whom  he  addressed,  certainly  does  not  look  very 
like  that  of  a  Baptist,  nor  very  likely  to  be  mis- 
taken ;  and  when  we  couple  it  with  the  fact  before, 
that  these  infants  are  7iot  forbidden  to  be  baptized, 
in  the  scripture,  that  therein  there  is  ?io  such  estima- 
tion of  it  to  be  found,  and  no  such  warnings  against 
it  given,  as  we  meet  with  in  the  sermon  of  every 
Baptist  preacher  at  the  present  day,  surely  we 
must  conclude  that  Peter  held  children  capable  of 
it ;  and  that  they  and  their  children  were  capable 
of  the  "  covenant,"  they  and  their  children  to  be 
baptized  in  it. 

Then,  again,  it  is  said  that  the  children  of 
believers  are  holy.  *'  The  unbelieving  husband  is 
sanctified  by  the  wife,  and  the  unbelieving  wife  is 
sanctified  by  the  husband,  else  were  your  children 
unclean,  but  now  they  are  holy."  (1  Cor.  vii.  14.) 
Holy,  not  positively,  for  no  one  that  is  born  is 
actuall}^  holy;  '*  unclean"  is  used  in  the  holy 
scriptures  as  unsuitable  for  admission  within  the 


134  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

covenant,  and  "holy"  for  that  which  is  suited 
thereto.  And  why,  upon  what  principle  ?  Upon 
this,  that  "husband  and  wife  are  one  flesh" — a 
principle  literally  taken  by  all  nations  in  the  laws 
of  marriage,  and  literally  acted  upon.  The  one 
flesh,  cannot,  therefore,  at  the  same  time  be  holy, 
or  suited  for  the  covenant  with  God,  and  unholy, 
or  unsuited ;  hence  the  offspring  must  be,  by  the 
very  principle,  suited  for  the  covenant. 

I  say  not  a  word  to  those  who  say  holy  means 
legitimate,  and  unholy,  illegitimate  ;  such  mean- 
ings are  not  to  be  found  for  the  words  in  the  scrip- 
tures. They  are  the  mere  explanations  of  those 
who  would  maintain  a  cause  at  all  hazards,  cou- 
pled with  a  profound  ignorance  of  the  sacredness 
and  the  mysteriousness  of  marriage,  as  an  institu- 
tion of  Almighty  God  whereby,  through  his  power, 
and  creative  and  dispository  influence,  they  that 
have  been  two  become  actually,  and  re  illy,  and  in- 
dissolubly  one.  If  this  be  admitted,  and  realized, 
and  held  as  a  fact  and  truth,  then  the  Apostle's 
argument  follows ;  if  it  be  no  fact,  but  a  metaphor, 
why  then  you  may  interpret  it  any  way  you  please. 

But  one  thing  is  certain — if  "unclean"  in  the 
children  mean  that  they  are  bastards,  and  "holy" 
that  they  are  legitimate,  "  holy"  or  "  unholy"  must 
have  the  same  meaning  in  the  case  of  the  husband 
or  the  wife.  And  then  we  have  the  apostle  declar- 
ing that  the  validity  of  marriage  depends  upon 
"belief,"  or  "faith" — a  most  strange  and  outrage- 
ous doctrine  to  be  attributed  to  the  apostle,  and 
most  contradictory  to  the  whole  of  the  scriptures. 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  13-5 

Children,  then,  in  this  passage  are  declared 
capable  of  admission  into  the  covenant,  clearly  and 
plainly.  And  so,  beside  the  argument  for  it  on  the 
ground  of  reason,  we  have  the  express  declaration 
of  holy  writ. 

We  go  on  to  the  next  part  of  this  argument. 
That  is,  there  is  nothing  in  the  condition  of  infancy 
to  forbid  them  attaining  all  the  privileges  of  the 
covenant,  and  being  benefited  by  them  all. 

The  first,  the  initial  privilege  of  all,  is  the 
remission  of  sins.  Now,  what  sins  are  to  be  re- 
mitted in  infants?  None  actual.  What  follows 
from  this?  Is  it  that  they  should  be  excluded  from 
the  covenant  with  God?  Certainly  not.  Else 
being  excluded,  they  would  actually  be  punished 
by  separation  from  the  other  privileges  of  the 
covenant. 

What,  therefore,  is  baptism  in  their  case,  con- 
sidered as  a  rite  for  the  remission  of  sins  ?  This 
may  be  seen  by  the  nature  of  sin.  What,  then,  is 
sin  ?  This,  neither  more  nor  less — the  transgres- 
sion of  the  law,  this  is  actual  sin.  And  how  does 
this  come,  how  comes  it,  that  since  the  "  law  is  holy, 
and  just,  and  true  ;"  "  since  virtue,"  or  conduct  in 
obedience  to  the  law  of  God,  "  is  the  law  of  man's 
nature,"  that  men  transgress  the  law,  for  that  law  is 
evidently  in  accordance  with  man's  best  interests  ? 
Certainly  it  is  not  by  the  bondage  of  an  iron  fate 
predestinating  us  to  be  sinful,  as  certainly  it  is  not 
the  force  of  external  circumstances  driving  us  on- 
ward   and    impelling   us    to   sin ;    for  every  man 


136  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

knows,  by  the  fact  that  he  is  a  man,  that  man  is 
the  lord  of  circumstances.  How  then  does  it  come  ? 
By  this,  that  there  is  a  moral  inability  to  keep 
God's  law  perfectly ;  an  inability  born  with,  and 
which  we  clearly  see  not  to  have  belonged  to  man's 
nature  originally,  but  to  have  been  the  result  of  a 
deterioration,  which  is  called  the  Fall. 

This  inability  is  in  the  infant ;  it  developes  it- 
self in  him  just  so  soon  as  reason  and  responsibility 
begin  to  develope  themselves.  And  the  great  end 
of  remission,  of  forgiveness,  of  reconciliation,  is  the 
putting  an  end  to  this  inability  in  actual  transgression 
and  in  its  own  guiltiness.  The  fact  of  the  inability 
and  the  fact  of  its  origin,  every  one  can  see  from 
his  own  nature. 

The  nature  of  sin  we  do  not  clearly  know  in 
this  world ;  even  our  deepest  imaginings  cannot 
penetrate  it.  The  very  consideration  of  it  is  in- 
volved in  the  deepest  mystery.  It  would  seem 
that  there  is  a  hideousness  and  horror  about  -it 
more  fearful  than  we  can  imagine,  when  we  think 
that  for  its  remission  and  pardon  the  eternal  word 
must  take  flesh  and  be  born,  suflfer,  die,  and  be 
buried,  that  it  should  be  remitted  ;  it  would  seem 
too,  that  if  we  only  could  comprehend  it,  that  it  is 
an  actual  and  real  death,  of  which  the  death  of  this 
world  is  only  the  shadow.  It  would  seem  also  to 
be  of  the  nature  of  an  infection,  reaching  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  from  father  to  son, 
extending  as  a  disease,  loathsome  of  itself  in  the 
e3^es  of  God.     It  would  seem  also  as  if  it  tainted 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  137 

the  nature  of  all  men,  as  unquestionably  the  nature 
of  poisonous  or  venomous  animals,  although  unde- 
veloped, still  is  in  their  offspring.  It  would  appear 
also,  that  there  is  some  impenetrable  and  happier 
connexion,  as  it  were,  between  the  souls  of  all  men, 
between  our  souls  and  the  souls  of  all  our  progeni- 
tors, and  by  consequence  with  the  soul  of  him  in 
whom  the  deterioration  took  place.  And,  lastly, 
it  is  plainly  manifest  from  the  scripture,  that  this 
world  is  a  world  of  evil,  in  which  we  are  all  born 
subjects  to  this  evil  taint.  "  We  were  by  nature 
children  of  wrath."  (Eph.  ii.  3.)  *'  As  by  one  man 
sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin ;  and 
so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have 
sinned."  (Rom.  v.  12.)  So,  from  all  these  consider- 
ations, would  it  seem  that  this  natural  inability 
requires  remission.  This  sinfulness  which  is  in  us 
by  birth,  must  be  pardoned. 

This  is  called  original  sin.  I  need  not  say  that 
the  explanation  of  it  is  difficult ;  from  the  first,  that 
we,  as  men,  born  to  sin,  cannot  understand  what 
sin  is  clearly  in  this  life,  or  how  it  looks  in  the  eyes 
of  a  most  holy  God.  Only  this  I  will  say,  that  any 
other  opinion  than  this  of  original  sin,  must  and 
will  force  us  into  difficulties  and  contradictions, 
overthrowing  the  whole  plan  of  salvation.  And  any 
Christian  that  looks  inward  upon  his  own  nature, 
and  sees  with  a  due  estimate  of  its  mysteriousness 
the  nature  of  sin,  and  then  looks  upon  a  God  most 
holy  and  most  pure,  must  come  to  the  conclusion, 
that  *'  original  sin"  both  exists  and  needs  pardon 


138  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

from  Almighty  God  in  each  individual;  that  is,  the 
application  of  the  blood  of  Christ. 

When  we  speak  of  pardon  of  sin,  we  are  too 
apt  to  imagine  to  ourselves  an  earthly  pardon, 
whei'ein  mere  words  convey  the  pardon.  When  v/e 
speak  of  forgiveness,  we  fall  into  the  same  error, 
for  earthly  forgiveness  is  for  the  most  part  gratui- 
tous ;  when  we  say  remission,  it  is  the  same  thing. 
These  convey  to  us  an  idea  or  notion  of  what  we 
cannot  fully  comprehend,  on  account  of  our  dim- 
sightedness.  The  truth  is,  that  what  we  count 
metaphor  more  fully  conveys  the  truth  than  these 
abstract  phrases.  The  *'  blood  of  Christ  cleanses 
us  from  sin;"  cannot  infants  be  cleansed  by  the 
blood  of  Christ?  "He  has  redeemed  us;"  cannot 
infants  be  redeemed?  '*  He  is  the  Saviour  of  men;" 
cannot  infants  be  saved  ?  "  He  gave  his  life  a 
ransom  for  many ;"  can  they  not  be  ransomed  ? 
*'  He  reconciled  men  to  himself;"  cannot  they  be 
reconciled  ?  The  men  who  object  to  the  doctrine 
of  original  sin,  and  the  necessity  of  its  remission  to 
infants,  will  admit  all  these  as  applicable  to  infants ; 
and  yet  they  are  all  identical  with  ^'  remission  of 
sin." 

But  it  may  more  plainly  be  seen  by  another 
consideration.  Forgiveness  of  sin  necessarily  im- 
plies in  the  sin  two  things — the  guilt  to  be  pardoned 
— the  stain  upon  the  moral  nature  to  be  wiped  off. 
It  implies  both  these  to  be  taken  out  of  the  sight  of 
God,  as  both  are  offensive  in  his  sight,  both  incapa- 
citate for  the  enjoyment  of  happiness.    In  forgive- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  139 

ness  both  these  come  in.  Now,  although  actual 
guilt  and  actual  stain  be  not  in  infants,  still  there 
is  a  stain  of  nature,  and  this  may  be  blotted  out, 
this  may  be  cleansed,  this  may  be  washed  in 
Christ's  blood.  And  this  being  remitted  or  blotted 
out,  the  term  remission  is  truly  and  really  applied 
to  infants  who  have  not  committed  actual  sin. 

Infants  then  are  baptized  for  the  remission  of 
original  sin,  that  they  may  be  washed  in  the  blood 
of  Christ,  that  being  born  the  children  of  wrath, 
they  may  be  made  the  children  of  grace.  If  they 
are  not  capable  of  this,  are  they  capable  of  salva- 
tion? For  surely  every  one  will  acknowledge  they 
have  been  redeemed.  Now  if  they  have  no  sin, 
actual  or  original,  how  can  they  be  redeemed  ?  I 
conclude,  therefore,  that  to  infants,  baptism  which 
is  for  the  remission  of  sin,  can  be  applied  by  reason 
of  original  sin,  which  is  the  sj^eck  and  stain  of 
human  nature. 

Let  us  look  then  to  regeneration ;  the  being  born 
of  water  and  the  Spirit.  And  keeping  clearly  in 
our  mind  that  it  consists  of  two  parts,  the  implanting 
in  us  of  3.  principle  of  life^  which  is  not  in  us  by 
nature,  and  the  being  introduced  iiito  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  which  is  the  world  of  that  birth,  the 
sphere  wherein  alone  the  spiritual  life  can  come  to 
perfection  in  actual  and  real  prosperity  ;  let  us 
inquire,  how  an  infant  is  incapable  of  these  two 
privileges.  Is  there  any  text  that  says  they  are 
incapable  of  it?  is  there  any  text  that  says  <'  that 
infants  cannot  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit  ?  " 
Is  there  any  text  that  says  this?     We  say  with  the 


140  MERCY  TO  BABESj. 

Church  in  all  ages  they  can — let  the  passage  be 
brought  forward  that  says  they  cannot. 

There  is  too  a  text  that  says,  "  except  one 
(mistranslated  a  man,)  be  born  of  water  and  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 
How  plain  is  it,  that  they  who  exclude  infants  shut 
them  out  from  God's  kingdom. 

The  Spirit  is  the  agent  in  the  new  birth,  the 
almighty  and  eternal  Spirit ;  he  formed  a  body  for 
Christ;  he  sanctified  John  from  his  mother's  womb. 
Men  assert  that  infants  cannot  be  horn  of  him:  how 
great  a  contradiction  is  this,  that  the  Almighty 
Spirit  the  Sanctifier,  cannot  work  his  miraculous 
effects  upon  a  human  spirit  at  any  time  and  at  any 
age,  and  this  when  there  is  no  resistance ;  for  the 
spirit  of  an  adult  can  resist  God's  Spirit,  but  the 
spirit  of  the  babe  cannot ;  and  this  too,  when  the 
spirit  of  the  babe  is  free  from  the  guilt  of  actual 
sin ;  so  free,  that  tliey  must  become  like  it,  who 
would  prepare  themselves  to  enter  into  that  king- 
dom. The  assertion  of  an  impossibility  in  infants 
because  of  their  infancy,  to  "  be  born  of  water  and 
the  Spirit,"  not  only  has  no  foundation  in  the 
scriptures,  but  is  contrary  to  all  we  know  from 
experience  and  from  the  scriptures,  of  the  moral 
state  and  spiritual  condition  of  the  infant. 

And  when  we  look  at  the  two  parts  of  this 
heavenly  birth,  we  find  in  neither  of  them  any 
natural  impossibility,  nothing  in  the  condition  of 
an  infant  that  should  prevent  either  of  them  from 
being  wrought  in  him.  The  spiritual  life,  as  I  have 
explained,  is  a  principle  not  of  us,  but  of  the  Spirit 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  141 

cHvelling  in  us  ;  it  is  a  life^  and  similar  to  our  bodily 
life.  The  bodily  life  is  not  absent,  because  we  cannot 
discern  it  by  our  senses  ;  it  is  present  in  sickness  and 
disease,  although  these  are  antagonist  influences  ; 
it  is  that  which  overcomes  them,  and  medicine 
cures  not  disease,  only  removes  the  obstacles  to 
the  working  of  the  life  in  our  bodies ;  it  is  present 
when  we  are  unconscious  of  it,  as  in  infants ;  when 
we  are  asleep,  as  full  grown ;  unseen  itself  and 
undiscernible,  it  shows  itself  only  by  its  working. 
The  feelings  of  the  body  may  be  lowerd  by  disease, 
still  the  life  is  there,  and  it  is  it  that  overcomes 
disease  in  the  body. 

Just  so,  if  there  be  a  life  of  God,  are  its  opera- 
tions in  the  souls  of  men.  It  is  a  permanent  pos- 
session, a  life;  when  implanted  it  is  not  away, 
because  we  cannot  see  it;  it  is  present,  an  antago- 
nist principle  in  us  to  the  life  of  this  world  that 
abides  in  our  flesh.  Prayer,  the  means  of  grace, 
meditation,  faith,  these  are  to  it  what  medicines 
are  to  the  natural  body  in  the  case  of  disease,  not 
means  of  producing  it,  for  it  is  the  sole  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  giver  of  life,  but  means  of  remov- 
ing obstacles  out  of  its  way.  It  dwells  with  us 
when  unconscious,  when  asleep,  unseen  itself  and 
indiscernible,  its  workings  manifest  it. 

Now  let  him  who  has  read  this  character  of  the 
life  of  God  in  man,  let  him  compare  it  with  the 
various  passages  in  the  scriptures  describing  the 
*♦  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man,"  and  he  shall  see 
how  exactly  they  answer  to  it.  Let  him  compare 
it  with  this  one  passage,  "  the  wind  bloweth  where 


142  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

it  llsteth,  and  ihou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but 
canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it 
goeth  :  so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit." 

Now  look  at  the  infant — we  will  say  unbaptized 
and  unregenerate  ;  is  there  not  an  evil  principle  in 
his  nature,  whose  root  and  source  is  original  sin, 
that  springs  up  in  actual  sin;  which  puts  forth 
first  the  germ,  then  the  stalk,  the  leaves  and  the 
branches  ?  Surely  there  is.  We  see  in  the  child 
that  the  falling  into  evil  is  no  sadden  start,  but  a 
development,  a  growth. 

How  unjust  would  it  be,  that  there  should  be 
no  stop  to  this  until  adult  years,  no  counteracting 
power  internally.  Unjust  it  would,  and  unnatural. 
But  the  life  of  God  is  the  healing  and  antagonist 
power,  even  in  the  baptized  infant.  The  same 
privilege  that  our  infant  Saviour  had,  that  same 
privilege  have  our  infants.  "  As  the  Father  hath 
life  in  himself,  so  hath  he  given  the  Son  to  have 
life  in  himself."  Was  there  an}^  time  of  manhood, 
or  youth,  or  infancy,  when  this  gift  was  given,  or 
rather  had  not  Christ,  the  man-God,  this  life  in 
himself  as  God-man  in  infancy,  at  birth  ?  Surely 
he  had.  What  then  hinders  us  who  have  the  life  of 
him,  to  have  it  in  infancy  by  his  appointed  means  ? 
Furthermore,  this  life  is  a  hidden  life — '*  our  life  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God."  Should  not  this  be  a 
strong  reason  against  asserting  that  infants  cannot 
have  this  life,  because  we  see  it  notl' 

But  we  may  look  at  the  absurdity  of  the  denial 
a  little  further.  Infants  can  be  born  into  the  world, 
but  they  cannot,  because  ihexj  are  infants^  be  born  of 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  143 

God,  the  Holy  Ghost,  "the  Lord  and  Giver  of 
life,"  although  that  Spirit  is  almighty,  nay,  although 
Christ  is  *'  the  light  that  lighteneth  all  that  come 
into  the  worlds 

Now  we  plainly  assert,  that  '*  if  the  life  of 
Christ "  be  a  true  and  real  life,  and  not  a  metaphor, 
then  by  the  very  situation  and  position  of  infants, 
they  are  more  capable  of  it  than  adults. 

With  regard  to  the  second  part  of  the  new  birth, 
as  we  have  above  said,  the  very  fact  of  a  life  im- 
plies a  sphere  in  which  to  exist ;  the  natural  life 
implies  a  natural  sphere  of  existence  for  the  life  to 
develope  itself  in  ;  so  does  the  life  of  sin,  a  natural 
sphere  of  evil,  which  is  what  is  called  the  world  ; 
and  the  life  of  God  a  sphere  of  existence,  which  is 
the  Church,  the  covenanted  body,  the  family,  the 
people  of  God.  We  have  shown  that  infants  are 
capable  of  admission  into  the  covenant.  Let  the 
Christian  look  at  the  means  of  grace  provided  for 
all,  at  the  care  of  fathers  and  mothers  who  are  of 
the  household  of  faith,  the  teaching  and  catechizing, 
the  training  given  therein,  the  general  feeling  there 
is  all  throughout  the  Church  of  the  preciousness  of 
the  infant  soul,  and  he  will  see  that  this  is  the 
sphere  of  life,  as  far  as  actual  means  are  concerned. 
All  these  means  take  it  for  granted,  that  the  life 
dwells  iherein,  and  are  founded  upon  that  suppo- 
sition. 

Let  him  look  then  at  the  other  spiritual  privi- 
leges of  the  covenant.  The  indwelling  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  body  and  soul  of  the  believer — is  aught  of 


144  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

man's  devices  more  fit  than  this  to  maintain  the 
purity  of  childhood  ?  The  gift  of  sufficient  grace ; 
needs  not  the  infant  or  the  growing  youth  this  gift 
to  maintain  the  life  of  Christ  in  him  ?  The  indwel- 
ling of  Christ,  who  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life  ; 
is  not  this  a  gift  for  the  two  months'  babe  as  well 
as  for  the  full  grown  man  ?  And,  lastly,  the  guar- 
dianship of  holy  angels  promised  to  the  little  ones 
of  Christ's  flock ;  is  not  this  a  privilege  of  the 
covenant  most  suitable  to  the  tender  babe?  Are 
not  all  these  most  needful  in  the  space  that  inter- 
venes between  birth  and  the  time  when  man  can 
be  conscious  of,  and  realize  his  privileges  for  the 
infant,  the  child,  the  growing  vouth  ?  Are  not  these 
things  privileges  and  mercies  in  the  sphere  of  life,  for 
the  life?  and  the  existence  of  these  in  that  sphere, 
and  their  needfulness,  an  argument  to  us,  that  the 
life  can  be  implanted  in  the  infant,  and  that  it  can 
live  and  abide  therein  ? 

To  sum  up  the  whole,  there  is  no  where  in  the 
holy  scripture  any  text  that  denies  to  the  infant 
any  of  the  privileges  of  baptism  expressly  attached 
to  it  in  the  scriptures.  There  is  not  in  the  nature 
of  the  infant  any  incapacity  for  any  of  them,  nay, 
in  the  case  of  the  most  of  them,  they  are  most 
appropriate  and  most  needful,  just  as  appropriate 
as  to  the  full  grown  man,  and  more  needful  and  suit- 
able to  the  babe.  That  is,  if  these  be  real  spiritual 
blessings  needing  the  eye  of  faith  to  realize  them. 

But  if  baptism  have  no  privileges  attached  to 
it,  and  the  covenant  no  privileges,  if  baptism  be  a 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  145 

mere  form,  why  then  these  are  nothing  to  the  infant, 
or  to  any  one  else  ;  and  all  we  can  do  is  to  wait  till 
the  babe  becomes  a  man,  till  he  has  passed  through 
the  sini  of  childhood  and  of  youth,  and  then  the 
grace  of  God  may  convert  him.  I  deny  not  that 
it  may  be  so. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


PART  II. 


The  Moral  and  Religious  Effects  of  Infant  Baptism, 

In  our  last  chapter  we  discussed  the  spiritual 
effects  of  Infant  Baptism,  and  examined  the  capa- 
city of  infants  for  it.  In  this  chapter  we  shall 
examine  the  moral  and  religious  effects  of  it,  that 
is,  the  practical  effects  of  it.  In  the  former  we 
spoke  of  the  causes ;  in  this  we  shall  confine  our- 
selves to  these  causes  in  their  actual  operation. 
This  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  as  regards 
the  children,  and  as  regards  the  parents. 

Now,  as  the  deficiency  of  the  mode  in  which 
this  subject  has  hitherto  been  examined  consists 
mainly  in  this,  that  the  relation  of  this  sacrament 
to  the  nature  of  man  has  not  been  made  a  topic  in 
the  investigation  at  all,  but  men  have  confined 
themselves  to  a  dr}?"  and  fruitless  discussion  of  texts 
and  words ;  we  shall  be  plainly  excused  when  we 
put  forward,  as  a  preparation  to  this  chapter,  some 
considerations  of  the  principle  in  our  nature  to 
which  this  sacrament  corresponds,  and  which  it  is 
suited  to  draw  forth  and  bring  to  perfection. 


MERCV  TO  BABES.  147 

^^Man  is,  at  all  times,  a  mo7'al  and  religious  heing^ 
We  say  that  he  has  a  capacity  for  reb'gion  and 
religious  ideas,  from  the  very  moment  his  mind 
awakens.     We  fear  not  to  say  this. 

Now,  Christianity  being  that  outwardly  which 
alone  can  bring  to  perfection  and  satisfy  these 
moral  elements  in  man,  Christianity  ought  to  be  a 
thing  for  the  child,  for  the  boy,  for  the  youth,  for 
the  young  man.  And  on  the  Baptist  theory,  is  it 
so?  Certainly,  we  say,  in  practice  it  is  not;  as 
witness  the  undeniable  fact  that  the  mass  of  men 
that  unite  with  Baptist  churches,  so  called,  are 
adults.  Can  it  be  so  made  upon  their  theory?  It 
certainly  seems  not.  And  wh}^  not?  Because 
Christianity,  to  be  effectual  upon  the  individual, 
must  not  only  be  a  fact,  true,  and  believed  in,  and 
felt,  but  also  applied  to  the  individual,  and  laid 
hold  on  by  him.  Now,  this  being  universally  al- 
lowed, and  "conversion"  being,  in  their  notion,  the 
means  of  "applying  it,"  and  "laying  hold  on  it," 
we  ask,  is  it  not  a  fact,  that  in  general  "  conversion" 
is  for  the  "adult;"  that  of  children  this  process 
cannot,  in  the  majority  of  cases  certainly  does  not, 
take  place  so  early  as  the  child  sins,  is  not  a  pro- 
cess for  infancy  or  childhood  ? 

Now  what  is  the  condition  of  the  father  and  the 
mother  in  such  a  case?  The  father  and  the  mother, 
they  are  converted  according  to  the  ordinary  doc- 
trines;  being  so,  they  are  called  "children  of  the 
adoption,  members  of  Christ,  and  heirs  of  the  pro- 
mises."     And  what  are  their  children?    Surely, 


148  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

according  to  their  notion,  they  are  not  this,  they 
must  be  "converted"  before  they  are. 

Well,  let  them  try  to  have  them  *'  converted  ;" 
let  them  try  to  have  them  go  through  the  same 
process  they  themselves  have  gone  through,  and 
the  result  is  jjracticalhj  a  despair  of  its  possibihty. 
The  guilelessness,  the  feebleness,  the  inexcitability 
of  the  infant  mind  render  the  process,  in  the  most 
of  cases,  an  impossible  one.     It  cannot  be  done. 

What  then  next  ?  To  teach  the  child  Christ- 
ianity— an  historical  Christianity!  how  Christ  was 
born,  and  died,  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  in 
Palestine,  which  is  not  New-York ;  and  then  with 
the  deadening  fact  ever  before  their  mind,  that  a 
realization  and  a  self-application  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  Christianity,  and  that  in  the  case  of  the 
child  that  cannot  be ;  to  go  on  telling  the  facts  of 
Christ's  life  and  death  to  try  to  get  up  its  feelings, 
as  we  should  get  up  feelings  concerning  any  other 
good  man's  suffering.  This  is  the  doom  of  the 
parent. 

Now  what  is  this — when  we  teach  "  historical 
Christianity"  without  any  self-application  or  real- 
ization, and  the  morality  of  the  Gospel  without  a 
foundation  of  faith,  merely  upon  the  foundation  of 
the  natural  moral  sense  of  man — what  is  this  reli- 
gion ?    It  is  merely  and  entirely  Unitarianism. 

The  Unitarianism  of  the  present  day  is  too  nar- 
row a  basis  of  doubt,  it  doubts  too  little.  They 
assert  Christ  not  to  be  God  ;  we  must  have  the 
privilege  of  absolute  doubt,  of  doubting  their  nega- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  149 

tive,  since  others  deny  it.  And  but  for  this  fact, 
the  natural  result  of  this  religious  training  would 
be  as  it  was  with  the  Puritan  Unitarianism  ;  as  it  is, 
it  is  a  wider  system,  the  system  of  non-professorism. 
The  religious  training  of  children  by  pious  parents, 
without  Infant  Baptism,  is  a  preparation  for  this.  I 
have  heard  them  wonder  it  should  be  so — it  is  no 
wonder  at  all. 

Now,  can  it  be  otherwise  ?  It  can.  Let  us  look 
at  the  religious  feeling  which,  as  I  have  said,  exists 
at  the  earliest  period  when  reason  awakens.  It 
is  always  attended  by  another,  *'  the  sense  of  re- 
sponsibihty ;"  and  yet  another,  the  **  sense  of 
position." 

Man  ever  feels  responsibility,  in  whatever 
position  he  is  placed,  ever  feels  the  effects  of 
**  position."  Let  him  be,  as  far  as  he  can  be, 
*'  freed,"  and  what  is  the  effect  ?  He  sinks,  mor- 
ally and  mentally.  Let  responsibilities  be  placed 
upon  him,  and  he  rises  adequate  to  emergencies, 
able  to  bear  loads  that  he  would  have  been  other- 
wise unequal  to  bear.  This  is  a  fact  of  universal 
human  nature,  of  babes  as  well  as  of  men. 

Let  men  weigh  it  well,  and  upon  it  they  will 
find  all  nobleness  and  loftiness  of  action  and  of 
thought  to  rest.  Let  a  man  have  no  confidence  in 
his  children  ;  let  him  ever  fear  them;  let  him  never 
trust  the  management  of  money  or  of  business  to 
their  care,  and  what  is  the  result?  Why  it  is  this, 
that  they  become  irresolute  in  habit,  mean,  imbe- 
cile, extravagant.  This  is  a  known  result.  Let 
them,  on  the  contrary,  feel  they  are  trusted,  they 


150  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

become  trustworthy ;  let  them  have  little  matters 
of  business  committed  them,  they  become  capable 
of  greater ;  let  him  be  generous  and  kind-hearted 
to  them,  they  never  try  to  escape  his  eye  by  mean 
trickery ;  let  them  feel  that  he  not  only  feeds  them 
because  he  cannot  help  it,  but  that  even  in  expend- 
itures they  have  a  responsibility,  and  they  are 
careful  and  prudent.  Responsibility  is  an  element 
of  the  human  mind,  a  moral  element,  at  all  periods 
of  our  existence. 

Not  only  this,  but  it  can  he  placed  upon  us,  and 
that  to  a  great  extent ;  and  it  is  not  unjust,  provided 
it  does  not  exceed  the  capabilities  of  our  nature. 
We  see  it  done  daily ;  and  the  way  it  is  done  is, 
by  putting  us  in  such  a  position  that  there  is  no 
escaping.  Look  at  all  moral  training,  all  educa- 
tion, it  all  depends  upon  this  ;  the  placing  of  man, 
by  others,  in  such  a  position  that  he  cannot  escape 
from  taking  up,  of  his  own  free  will,  responsibili- 
ties connected  witli  it,  and  acting  upon  them — for 
man  will  escape  if  he  can. 

Now  to  me,  this  notion  of  "  conversion,"  ap- 
plicable as  it  is  mainly  to  adults,  looks  very  like 
the  setting  the  child,  for  a  certain  portion  of  life, 
free  from  religious  responsibility.  For,  we  ask,  upon 
this  notion,  is  the  unconverted  child  a  Christian  ? 
Certainly  not.  Now  Christians,  as  such,  must  have 
responsibilities  'peculiarly  Christian,  coming  from 
the  fact  of  their  Christianity.  Is  not  the  child  free 
from  them  ?  Undoubtedly.  Nay,  we  may  imagine 
the  child  asking — *'  Mother,  am  I  a  Christian  ?  " 
and  being   answered    "??o,"  he    argues,  "Mother 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  161 

must  go  to  church,  because  she  is  a  Christian ;  I 
need  not,  for  I  am  not  a  Christian — and  it  is  very 
tiresome ;  mother  must  do  so  and  so,  but  I  am  no 
Christian."  It  requires  no  very  great  stretch  of  the 
imagination  to  imagine  this  ;  whether  it  has  taken 
place  or  not  we  do  not  know;  but  certain  it  is  that 
this  feelinc:  must  and  does  arise  in  the  minds  of 
adult  non-professors,  and  every  one  that  has  had 
much  intercourse  with  them  has  seen  it. 

Now  let  us  take  the  duties  and  the  responsibil- 
ities peculiarly  Christian,  and  let  us  know  which 
of  them  is  unsuited  and  unfitting  to  the  infant  mind, 
to  the  child,  and  the  youth.  Certainly  none.  If 
prayer,  and  praise,  and  love,  and  faith,  and  obe- 
dience to  God,  and  the  outward  services  of  religion, 
be  Christian  duties,  they  are  duties  for  the  child ; 
nay,  duties  to  which  his  nature,  uncorrupted  by 
the  world,  unalloyed  by  the  passions,  is  more  fitted 
than  ours  are. 

But  this  notion  puts  him  in  no  'position  for  these, 
it  gives  him  the  liberty  of  escape,  and  he  does 
escape.  It  is  in  vain  to  say  that  the  authority  of 
parents,  custom,  habit,  the  beauty  and  suitableness 
of  them,  will  compel  him  ;  they  are  Christian  duties, 
and  the  true  and  proper  position  in  which  alone  he 
will  be  compelled  freely  to  feel  the  responsibility,  is 
that  he  he  a  Christian,  in.  as  true  and  real  a  sense  as 
his  parents  are.  The  prmciple  itself  of  our  nature 
shows  this. 

Now  taking  this  as  a  fact,  that  Christianity  is 
for  all  ages ;  that  the  human  mind,  as  a  foundation 
of  its  moral  powers,  has  the  sense  of  responsibility  ; 


152  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

that  to  place  and  impose  upon  others,  over  whom 
we  have  natural  authority,  responsibility,  is  just 
and  right,  I  do  not  and  cannot  see  how  we  can 
avoid  the  conclusion  that  infant  baptism  is  accord- 
ing to  the  moral  nature  of  man  ;  that  the  parents 
have  a  right  to  place  their  child  in  covenant  with 
God,  provided  the  demands  of  that  covenant  do 
not  transcend  his  nature,  as  they  do  not,  and  so 
placed,  they  have  a  right  to  urge  his  position 
upon  him  as  a  motive  to  action  upon  his  responsi- 
bihties. 

To  be  sure,  if  baptism  be  nothing,  if  instead 
of  its  being  a  reality,  and  the  covenant  a  reality, 
it  is  a  form  merely,  then  he  is  in  no  position  other 
than  before,  and  under  no  responsibilities  more  than 
before  ;  if  there  be  no  aids  to  him  more  than  before, 
why  then  there  is  no  change  in  position.  But  if  the 
covenant  between  God  and  man  be  a  true  covenant, 
binding  upon  both  parties  ;  if  gifts  and  graces  are 
given  in  it,  then  let  him  look  to  man's  nature,  and 
it  corresponds  with  the  facts  asserted  as  to  baptism 
and  the  covenant  in  the  holy  scriptures.  The  child 
may  be  made  a  Christian  by  baptism  ;  may  act 
upon  it,  and  grow  up  in  it,  and  have  its  motives 
kept  before  him  by  parents,  and  recognize  these 
motives  and  responsibilities  from  earliest  years. 

I  tell  not  dissenters  for  this  to  baptize  their 
children,  for  w^th  them  baptism  is  that  of  "faith 
and  repentance  solely,"  the  "baptism  of  John;" 
I  tell  them  not  because  of  this  to  baptize  them, 
because,  having  only  the  notion  of  John's  baptism, 
and  believing  that  a  further  process,  called  "  con- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  153 

version,"  is  that  wliich  maJces  the  Christian,  their 
baptism  of  infants,  not  taking  the  true  ground,  must 
be  a  thing  inconsistent.  But  because  of  this  I  do 
say,  that  the  true  Christian  baptism,  the  baptism 
for  remission  of  sIjis,  wherein  the  child  "  is  born 
again  of  water  and  the  Spirit,"  is  most  in  accord- 
ance with  the  principles  of  our  nature  ;  is  that 
whereby  alone  Christianity  is  made  an  institution 
and  a  privilege  for  all  ages. 

Now  let  us  take  the  parent  and  the  child ;  we 
have  shown  the  position  of  the  parent  and  the  child, 
under  the  other  system,  look  at  their  position  under 
this.  Consider  the  parent  with  the  fixed  thought 
upon  his  mind,  that  as  he  is  in  covenant  with  God, 
so  is  the  child  ;  that  as  he  is  a  Christian,  so  is  his 
babe ;  that  as  in  him  the  Holy  Spirit  dwells,  so  in 
the  child  ;  that  as  to  him  sufficient  grace  is  given,  so 
to  the  child ;  that  as  he  is  under  the  guardianship 
of  angels,  so  his  child.  Let  him  have  these  thoughts 
— and  men  have  had  them,  and  have  acted  upon  them 
— and  how  much  does  it  add  to  the  relation  of  child 
and  father ;  it  makes  it  at  once  one  of  the  loftiest 
and  noblest  thoughts,  and  brightest  hopes.  And 
side  by  side  with  the  expansion  of  the  child's 
intellect  as  to  the  relation  between  him  and  his 
earthly  father,  it  places  his  knowledge  with  regard 
to  his  heavenly  one  ;  and  to  every  act  of  religion 
which  the  father  places  upon  the  child,  it  assigns 
at  once  a  reason  of  position  in  the  relation  of  the 
child. 

He  may  not  at  first  understand  it  clearly,  as  he 
does  not  understand  how  his  father  is  his  father, 
7* 


154  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

and  being  such,  has  power  over  him.  But  just  as 
soon  as  he  knows  what  "Christian"  means,  just  so 
soon  the  moral  sense  attaches  the  feeUng  of  respon- 
sibility to  the  word  ;  and  the  evidence  of  those 
whom  he  must  believe,  his  father  and  his  mother,  to 
the  effect  that  he  is  a  Chrlstimi,  compels  him  to  feel 
that  he  must  take  up  these  responsibilities,  and  he 
will  do  it ;  and  the  gifts  and  graces  given  in  true 
baptism,  these  will  sustain  him.  And  so  from  day 
to  day  the  child  will  grow  in  grace,  and  never,  at 
any  one  period  of  life,  be  enabled  to  remember  the 
time  when  first  he  learned  that  God  was  his  Father, 
and  Christ  his  Redeemer ;  never  be  able  to  trace 
in  his  heart  and  soul  the  beginning  of  his  faith  and 
hope  ;  and  Christianity  will  be  a  thing  not  put  on 
with  an  effort,  and  walked  in  with  an  effort,  but 
one  that  has  grown  with  his  growth,  and  strength- 
ened with  his  strength. 

Need  I  say  that  I  have  seen  such  in  the  Church, 
men  and  women  grown,  that  from  childhood  had 
been  Christians,  who  had  never  had  as  to  belief 
any  morsel  of  doubt ;  as  to  their  own  position  from 
childhood,  its  duties,  responsibilities,  and  privile- 
ges, any  hesitancy,  but  calmly  and  quietly  had 
gone  on  from  infancy  to  age  in  a  realization  of 
these  responsibilities  ? 

I  will  say,  that  if  the  promises  attached  to  bap- 
tism be  true,  such  a  Christianity  as  this,  is  the  one 
that  is  mxost  suitable  to  our  nature,  and  that  in  effect 
it  actually  and  really  does  surpass  the  other.  Let 
one  be  a  Christian  in  this  way,  (I  speak  but  for  the 
Church,  for  there  are  the  m.eans  for  it,  not  elsewhere,) 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  155 

and  there  is  no  doubt,  no  fear,  no  hesitancy,  all 
which  cling  and  hold  fast  to  him  (in  a  greater  or  less 
degree)  that  has  been  converted  in  maturer  years. 
There  is,  too,  a  greater  consistency  of  life ;  a  kind 
of  saintliness  and  sweetness  in  temper  and  feeling, 
that  attaches  itself  to  them  who  have  been  Christ- 
ians from  infancy  under  the  Church's  teachings. 
I  use  the  word  *'  saintliness"  for  want  of  a  better, 
to  express  a  peculiar  tone  of  temper  that  I  have 
ever  noticed  in  the  pious  in  the  Church  whose  piety 
dates  from  their  Christian  baptism  in  infancy — a 
quality  observed  by  myself,  and  noticed  by  several 
to  me. 

Furthermore,  with  regard  to  feeUng  this  has  the 
advantage.  I  see  the  father  converted  with  great 
labor  and  great  struggle  acting  upon  the  Gospel, 
taking  up  its  feelings  and  acting  on  them  until  they 
become  his  own.  Let  him  only  he  the  Christian^  and 
not  his  child,  and  these  feehngs  terminate  in  him ; 
let  him  estimate  and  consider  the  child  as  a  Christ- 
ian, and  the  child  think  itself  so  to  be,  and  he  so, 
and  the  direct  effect  of  this  is,  that  from  imitation, 
from  affection,  from  the  thousand  influences  by 
which  in  the  home  the  child  is  moulded,  the  feel- 
ings of  the  father,  his  hopefulness,  or  his  faith,  or 
his  humility,  become  the  inheritance  of  the  child. 

I  might  advance  still  further — I  might  show 
how,  upon  this  fact  of  infant  baptism,  all  Christian 
education  depends,  and  how  all  Christian  educa- 
tion attempted  without  this  for  childhood  must  fail  ^ 
but  enough  has  been  said  to  set  the  candid  inquirer 
upon  the  track ;  enough  to  have  suggested  to  hin^ 


156  ,  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

the  elements  of  many  thoughts  upon  the  subject, 
which  I  hope  will  confirm  my  views. 

We  proceed,  therefore,  to  the  moral  and  reli- 
gious efTects  upon  the  parents.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  there  are  two  views  in  which  the  household 
may  be  taken — the  merely  physical  view,  and  the 
Christian  view.  In  the  merely  ph^^sical  view,  the 
house  is  "  a  certain  place  to  shelter  a  woman  and  a 
man,  who,  for  mutual  advantages,  are  united  to- 
gether." The  husband  is  he  who  provides  the 
elements  of  comfort,  the  wife  she  who  arranges 
and  combines  them.  He  marries  for  a  house- 
keeper, for  an  attendant  upon  his  comforts,  for  the 
station  of  respectability  given  in  society  by  mar- 
riage, for  a  thousand  things,  all  which  terminate  in 
self;  and  she  for  a  comfortable  home,  for  a  pro- 
tector, for  station,  or  family,  or  for  a  hundred  things 
more,  all  which  terminate  in  self:  convenience, 
comfort,  advantages  merely  physical,  these  are  the 
motives  which  cause  the  most  of  marriages,  these 
are  the  grounds  whereupon  their  continuance  is 
placed. 

Yet  still  this  is  not  openly  avowed  to  one  an- 
other by  the  parties  ;  it  is  hidden  from  one  another : 
only  in  the  consciousness  of  the  individual  does  it 
lie  concealed. 

And  as  God  made  man,  so  in  man's  heart  there 
is  a  longing  and  a  searching  after  the  higher  truths 
of  his  revelation  ;  and  in  despite  of  all  false  theories, 
will  the  heart  of  man,  even  untaught,  search  out  to 
itself  some  faint  twinkling  of  the  truth.  And  so  in 
despite  of  this  notion,  which  is  the  notion  that  most 


MERCY  TO  BABES. 


157 


at  these  days  profess  and  act  upon,  the  notion,  I 
say,  *'  that  marriage  is  a  civil  contract  for  supply 
of  mutual  wants,"  in  despite  of  this  notion,   which 
I  honestly  say,  is  my  opinion,  places  the  union  of 
two  human  beings  on  the  ground  of  the  union  of  a 
pair  of  animals,  permanancy  being  the  only  thing 
in  which  it  differs,  in  despite  of  this  which  makes 
us  rational  brutes,  animals  ivith  reason;  still  the  heart 
of  man  will  attach  something  of  sanctity,  something 
of  holiness    to    the    union.     The    husband's    love 
towards  the  wife  will  still  have  something  of  the 
reverence,  something  of  the  deep  feeling  of  venera- 
tion,  something  of  the    religious   respect  for    the 
wife,  which  the  true  scripture  doctrine  realized  as 
a  sentiment  of  the  heart,  would  give  in  its  fulness. 
And  the  wife  will  still  have  for  the  husband  that 
feelino-  akin  to  worship,  which  that  true  doctrine 
inspires,  the  highest  feeling  of  the  heart  towards  a 
created  being  that  the  man  is  capable  of.    Imperfect 
are  these  sentiments,  and  not  clearly  understood 
or  distinctly  held,  since  their  foundation  is  denied ; 
but  still  in  some  degree  they  will  exist. 

And  what  then,  the  reader  may  say,  is  the  true 
doctrine  ?  That  plainly  laid  down  in  the  scripturi^, 
»'  that  these  two  are  one  flesh  ; "  that  the  two  indi- 
viduals, being  two,  are  yet  07ie,  a  man  and  a  woman, 
yet  one  humanity — one  not  only  in  union  of  interest, 
will,  affections,  sympathies,  for  this  is  a  figurative 
oneness;  but  one  so  as  no  other  oneness  is;  one  so, 
that  by  Christ's  law,  nothing  save  death  can  dis- 
unite them  ;  one  so,  that  the  unbelieving  wife  or 
husband   is    sanctified  by  the   believer.     One    as 


158  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

Christ  and  his  Church  are  one ;  one  in  a  mystery; 
that  is  to  sa}^  the  fact  is  to  us  impossible,  yet  as 
being  revealed  to  us  by  the  word  of  God,  as  con- 
firmed too  by  the  instinctive  feeling  of  our  nature, 
we  receive  it  as  the  work  of  God,  while  the  means 
whereby  it  is  so,  the  grounds,  the  consequences  of 
it,  these  lie  far  beyond  as  deep  hidden  in  the  limit- 
less power  and  the  inscrutable  wisdom  of  the 
Eternal. 

This  is  the  Christian  doctrine  of  marriage,  and 
by  this  the  union  is  holy  and  full  of  grace,  an  union 
which  is  so,  whether  we  feel  it  or  not,  and  works 
out  its  effects  even  upon  those  denying  it,  the  feel- 
ing and  modes  of  thinking  above  alluded  to,  even 
on  those  the  most  unconscious  of  it. 

The  house  then  of  man  is  no  lodging  of  a  pair 
of  rational  animals,  no  tavern  wherein  the  husband 
is  a  permanent  boarder  for  the  money  he  brings  in, 
and  the  wife  a  permanent  boarder  for  the  work  she 
does  ;  but  nearer  to  a  temple  it  comes,  and  the 
husband  and  the  wife  are  priests  of  God,  declaring 
to  one  another  and  to  the  world  by  their  union  the 
mysterious  power  and  mysterious  wisdom  of  the 
i^Tiighty,  and  by  their  feeling  produced  by  this 
fact,  manifesting  that  there  is  upon  the  earth  holi- 
ness, and  reverence,  and  worship,  and  affection, 
independent  altogether  of  self. 

Man  of  sentimentality  !  were  it  not  better  you 
took  this  as  a  plain  fact,  kept  it  in  your  memory, 
and  acted  upon,  than  delight  yourself  with  vague 
luxuriancies  of  feeling,  which  only  in  this  have 
their  reality?     Man  of  romance  !  think  ^^ou  not  this 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  159 

a  more  permanent  foundation  for  your  love  than 
the  false  floating  notion  of  Thomas  Moore,  and 
Byron,  and  Bulvver  ?  Men  of  poetry  !  Provencal 
troubadours  of  old,  and  German  minnesingers,  from 
whom,  by  many  a  channel,  you  drain  your  notions, 
on  this  founded  their  noblest  thoughts,  which  to 
them  were  but  the  faint  utterance  of  their  deep 
feeling  of  this  religious  truth,  and  to  you  are 
"  pretty  poetry,"  and  "  sweet  thoughts." 

And  as  a  proof  of  this,  you  may  search  through 
the  ancients  from  Homer  down  to  Euripides,  and 
in  none  of  them  all  will  you  find  what  w^e  Christians 
call  "  love  ;  "  in  all  of  them  you  will  find  what  they 
call  love,  to  be  merely  animal  feeling.  All  the 
scattered  nobleness  of  thought  and  feeling  as  to  the 
love  there  may  be  in  poetry  or  romance,  all  take 
their  origin  remotely  or  directly  from  the  Christian 
doctrine  and  the  Christian  sentiment  of  marriage. 
Methinks  it  is  time  when  we  look  at  the  enormous 
number  of  divorces,  that  men  were  standing  upon 
the  Christian  doctrine  again,  and  giving  up  the 
*'  boarding-house,"  or  "  mutual  permanent-tavern  " 
theory. 

But  this  doctrine  and  this  sentiment  are  the 
"  possession  of  the  Church."  We  naturally  have 
it,  and  easily  and  unconsciously  fall  into  it.  To 
others,  although  plainly  asserted  in  the  bible,  it  is 
a  *'  falsehood,"  an  *'  absurdity,"  a  thing  "  that 
cannot  be."     It  is  nevertheless  true. 

Now  in  view  of  this  truth,  let  us  look  at  the 
relation  of  the  infant  to  the  home.  In  view  of  this, 
and    this   alone,    which  as  we    have    shown,  our 


160  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

nature  yearns  after  and  confirms,  *'  the  home  is  a 
holy  place,"  not  merely  consecrated  by  the  affec- 
tions and  unconsecrated  when  they  are  not  present, 
but  of  Itself  in  itself  holy.  In  view  of  this,  what  the 
apostle  said  is  true,  "  your  children  are  holy." 
The  marriage  is  holy,  the  home  is  holy,  the  children 
are  holy. 

Take  the  worst  of  men  and  they  in  action  will 
recognize  these  facts  as  true ;  the  foulest  debaucher 
will  hide  his  debaucheries  from  his  family  ;  the 
filthiest  speaker  before  his  wife  and  his  children 
will  abstain  from  his  filthy  speaking ;  they  feel  the 
holiness  o^ wife ^  o^  children,  and  of  the  home;  nay, 
even  the  heathen  poet,  plunged  in  that  horrid  vor- 
tex of  all  vice  that  is  foul,  all  debauchery  that  is 
abominable,  which  drowned  the  last  days  of  ancient 
Rome,  could  feel  this  of  nature  when  he  said, 
*'  maxima  debetur  pueris  reverentia" — the  deepest 
reverence  is  due  to  children. 

Now  taking  these  facts  as  truths,  who  is  there 
that  does  not  see  the  fact,  that  to  the  Christian 
parent,  Christian  baptism  of  infants  is  that  which 
completes  and  brings  to  its  full  and  thorough  per- 
fection, the  relation  of  the  parent  to  the  child,  as  the 
same  ordinance  coupled  with  the  other  sacrament  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood,  is  that  which  fills  up  the 
relation  of  husband,  and  wife,  and  home.  In  fact, 
I  will  say,  the  baptism  of  the  infant,  and  this  alone, 
can  establish  the  relation  of  the  home  in  its  Christian 
fulness. 

Men  will  say,  "  O  !  we  can  feel  all  this  without 
baptizing  our  infants,  just  as  well  as  water  can  flow 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  161 

ill  a  channel  to  which  there  is  no  fountain."  Men 
will  avoid  responsibiUties  just  as  much  as  children. 
By  man's  position  he  should  give  his  children  a 
Christian  education.  Tt  is  hard  to  give  such  to 
those  that  are  no  Christians.  No  Christians,  say 
some,  because  they  are  not  converted — none,  say 
I,  because  they  are  not  baptized. 

Let  them  be  baptized  with  Christian  baptism, 
and  what  are  the  thoughts  of  the  father?  Here 
they  are  unconscious  of  their  privileges  as  Chris- 
tians, just  as  they  have  been  a  little  while  ago 
unconscious  of  their  privileges  as  human  beings, 
yet  having  them.  And  I  and  their  mother  have 
taught  them  these,  have  watched  over  the  first 
glimpses  of  intelligence  as  to  the  outward  world, 
and  aided  this  consciousness  as  to  earthly  things, 
should  I  not  as  to  heavenly  things?  I  have  been 
their  father,  and  they  called  me  father  before  they 
knew  what  father  meant — is  there  aught  incongru- 
ous in  their  being  children  of  God,  and  calling  him 
*^  father, ^^  before  they  know  what  that  means  ?  and 
is  it  not  my  duty  as  with  regard  to  myself,  their 
earthly  father  ?  I  have  awakened  their  knowledge 
as  to  the  one,  so  do  with  regard  to  the  other. 
They  are  sanctified  by  the  Spirit  all  unconsciously, 
should  not  the  parent  draw  forth  this  fact  as  a 
motive  into  their  minds  ?  They  are  under  the 
guardianship  of  God's  peculiar  providence,  is  not 
this  fact  a  ground  for  the  parent's  instruction  as  to 
faith  ? 

Yes,  T  Scij,  faith  in  children,  faith  in  babes,  true 
saying  faith,  this  the  parent,  knowing  infant  baptism 


162  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

as  a  fact,  may  produce  unhesitating,  unwavering, 
unshaken  faith,  such  as  man  converted  in  maturer 
years  possibly  can  have.  For  all  Christian  virtues 
and  feeling  in  children.  Christian  baptism  in  its 
peculiar  Christian  meaning  and  power,  is  a  means 
to  the  parent,  and  to  himself  the  completion  of  his 
duty  as  a  parent. 

Let  the  responsibility  be  placed  upon  him,  his 
position  leads  him  to  realize  it,  and  he  will  realize 
it;  he  will  feel  that  "  children  of  heaven  and  of 
Christ,"  not  merely  of  his  own  person,  are  entrusted 
to  him,  heirs  not  barely  of  his  earthly  property, 
but  of  Christ,  are  given  him.  That  his  house  is  a 
temple,  and  himself  the  priest  of  it,  the  delegate 
and  representative  of  the  Father  most  high. 

And  knowing  that  baptism  is  no  empty  sign, 
no  mere  form,  but  the  work  of  the  Almighty  Father, 
the  Almighty  Son,  the  Almighty  Spirit,  he  will  let 
no  thoughts  of  possible  coincidence  of  adverse 
circumstances  dismay  him,  no  considerations  of 
rebellious  nature  or  unruly  wills  trouble  him,  but 
go  on  in  faith  in  God,  and  do  that  dut}"  towards 
them,  which  even  his  natural  feelings  tell  him 
should  be  done ;  he  undertakes  the  responsibility 
which,  as  it  is  not  too  great  for  him,  so  he  has  a 
right  to  undertake  it,  and  can  fulfil  it. 

And  upon  himself  behold  the  effect.  Teaching, 
he  is  taught;  training,  he  is  trained.  The  questions 
of  a  Christian  child,  coming  from  the  heart  un- 
hackneyed in  the  ways  of  the  world,  these  are 
instructions  for  the  greatest  and  the  deepest- 
thoughted.     Nay,  I  do  believe,  that  as  to  the  Chris- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  163 

tian  husband,  the  intercourse  of  a  Christian  wife 
will  give  a  tone  to  his  piety  which  otherwise  it 
could  not  have,  so  to  the  Christian  father,  the 
teaching  of  his  "  Christian  children,''^  born  again  of 
the  Spirit,  will  communicate  a  great  deal  of  that 
childlike  spirit,  which  is  the  character,  according 
to  our  Saviour,  of  true  Christianity. 

And  one  reason  why  this  is  wanting,  why  the 
present  Christianity  is  so  fierce,  fanatical,  and 
excited,  I  think  to  be,  because  Christian  baptism 
is  so  rare.  For  under  it  we  are  a  "  royal  priest- 
hood." The  Spirit  under  it  speaks  from  the  father 
to  the  child,  from  the  child  to  the  father,  from  the 
wife  to  the  husband,  from  the  husband  to  the  wife. 
From  all  founts  of  natural  affection,  from  all  sources 
of  happiness,  the  Spirit  too  of  God  flows,  for  it 
takes  possession  of  them  all,  and  makes  of  them  all 
issues  of  its  grace. 

And  highly  responsible  and  lofty  will  be  the 
feeling  of  father  and  mother,  knowing  these  things  ; 
not  a  grim  religious  home,  as  under  the  old  Puri- 
tans, when  the  father,  in  truth  and  fact,  was  the 
representative  of  a  God  of  absolute  decrees  of  pre- 
destination to  heaven  and  reprobation  to  hell,  but 
a  Christian  house  full  of  all  tenderness  and  mutual 
sympathy.  The  child  at  once  a  child,  and  in  Christ 
a  brother,  endowed  with  the  same  privileges,  and 
blessed  with  the  same  Spirit.  When  as  under  the 
ordinance  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit  prevail.  "  For  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love, 
joy,   peace,    long-suffering,    gentleness,    goodness, 


164  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

faith,  meekness,  temperance,  against  such  there  is 
no  law."     (Gal.  v.  22,  23.) 

Let  them  who  have  seen  both  say,  whether 
these  are  the  fruits  of  the  puritanic  home  or  of  the 
home  of  the  non-professors. 

Men  will  say,  we  have  not  seen  these  things. 
Well,  we  sa}^,  as  we  have  said  before,  there  is  but 
little  Christian  baptism  in  the  land  ;  we  say  too, 
there  is  but  little  realization  or  acknowledgment  of 
the  Christian  doctrine,  as  to  the  family  among  those 
called  professors.  We  say  too,  look  at  the  doctrine 
of  Christian  baptism,  look  at  the  Christian  doctrine 
of  the  family,  and  these  acknowledged  and  realized, 
ever  bring  forth  these  fruits,  and  we  have  seen  them. 

And  as  our  conclusion,  we  will  say,  from  this 
whole  chapter,  **  no  Christianity  is  full  and  com- 
plete in  the  Spirit  and  the  temper  of  Christ,  that 
has  not  begun  in  childhood."  No  Christians  that 
are  parents  are  full  and  complete  in  the  Spirit  of 
our  Lord,  who  do  not  give  their  children  Christian 
baptism,  and  undertake  and  act  upon  the  responsi- 
bility it  imposes. 


CHAPTER   V. 


PART  II. 


The  Benefits  to  Society  of  Infant  Baptism. 

I  NEED  not  say  that,  having  shown  how  the  ordi- 
nance of  Christian  baptism,  truly  received  and  truly 
appreciated,  ennobles  and  exalts  to  the  greatest 
possible  pitch  the  relation  of  the  husband  to  the 
wife,  and  of  both  to  the  children  ;  having  shown 
how  its  effects  are  the  rendering  Christian  educa- 
tion a  possible  thing,  w^hich  is  now  impossible  ;  and 
how  it  produces,  as  its  result,  a  tone  of  Christianity 
having  truly  the  odor  of  the  Spirit  about  it,  calm 
and  gentle  and  peaceable,  unwavering  in  faith, 
and  making  its  great  end  the  works  of  the  Gospel  ; 
having  shown  these  things,  I  need  not  say  I  have 
shown  many  benefits  arising  from  it  to  society. 

I  am  not  to  prove  these  things,  I  only  indicate 
them,  and  this  is  enough.  For  I  know  that  there 
are  many  good  and  true  men  and  women  who  will 
read  this  book,  to  whom,  perhaps,  at  first  these 
things  will  be  startling,  and  yet  who  by  looking 
over  their  own  experience,  will  find  many  more 
indications  of  the  truth  of  the  things  I  have  said, 


166  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

than  a  hundred  volumes  such  as  this  could  supply. 
I  know,  too,  that  there  is  in  this  country  a  religious 
society,  the  Church,  whose  inheritance  not  to  be 
taken  away  is  the  ordinance  of  Christian  baptism  ; 
and  I  know  that  truer  and  truer,  more  and  more 
practical  every  day  to  her  members  are  becoming, 
because  of  external  things,  the  truths  she  maintains  ; 
and  I  have  seen  that  this  sacrament,  as  applied  to 
infants,  is  every  day  more  felt  in  its  power  and 
effects  among  us.  To  the  increase,  then,  of  these 
two  feelings  I  trust  for  the  "  proof,"  if  it  may  be 
so  called,  of  these  sentiments  herein  expressed,  and 
leave  janglings,  and  disputes,  and  debates  to  those 
whom  these  things  please.  The  bible  and  the 
nature  of  man,  the  Church  of  God  and  the  world 
of  God's  providences,  the  home  and  its  elements 
of  holiness,  these  are  advocates  on  m}^  side  which 
must  be  heard  ;  and  in  their  increasing  power,  and 
continual  emancipation  from  the  interpretation  of 
sect  and  party,  will  give  a  force  to  things  I  have 
herein  said,  which  I  cannot  appreciate,  but  which  I 
know  must  ultimately  avail.  To  these  advocates 
I  have  hitherto  appealed,  and  to  them  I  leave  my 
cause. 

I  might  stop  here,  but  there  is  a  view  upon  this 
point  which,  in  my  mind,  is  so  important  in  a  social 
point  of  view,  that  I  cannot  refrain  from  laying  it 
before  my  readers.  It  has  been  seen  that  the  doc- 
trine of  baptism  supposes  the  conferring  of  privi- 
leges upon  those  unconscious  of  them,  privileges 
which  are  real  and  true,  yet  of  which  the  possessors 
of  them  have  no  feeling. 


MERCY   TO  BABES.  l67 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  privileges  of  the  infant 
in  the  spiritual  covenant,  are  analogous  to  the  pri- 
vileges of  the  infant  citizen  in  the  political  covenant, 
both  had,  in  truth  and  reality,  by  those  who  are 
unconscious  of  their  existence,  that  both  are  just, 
inasmuch  as  they  imply  responsibilities  to  which 
the  nature  of  the  infant  man  is  adequate.  Every 
one  will  acknowledge,  that  in  the  case  of  the  infant 
citizen  these  privileges  would  be  idly  conferred, 
but  that  there  is  an  institution,  the  State,  which 
trains  him  up  to  them,  and  educates  him  to  both 
these  things,  to  act  upon  them,  and  by  action  to 
know  and  feel  them  as  his  ;  and  also,  he  that  shall 
look  to  the  matter  closely,  will  see  that  there  is  a 
certain  influence  that  proportionates  in  the  infant 
and  growing  citizen  the  responsibilities  exactly  to 
the  privileges,  and  the  capability  of  acting  upon 
these  privileges. 

Now  when  we  come  to  see  what  that  influence 
is,  and  by  what  name  it  is  to  be  called,  we  shall 
see  at  once  it  is  "  law."  We  shall  see,  too,  that  it 
is  an  influence  from  which,  in  the  State,  none  can 
be  free  ;  through  all  the  institutions  of  society  it 
speaks,  for  these  are  its  embodiments,  the  magis- 
trate, the  husband,  the  parent,  all  are  mouth-pieces 
of  this  eternal  spirit.  To  all  men  it  speaks,  to  all 
classes,  and  all  individuals  it  reaches,  even  to  the 
babe  on  its  mother's  knee.  To  the  good  it  is  the 
secret  plastic  force  of  society,  which  works  upon 
them  almost  unconsciously,  framing  and  forming 
them  ever  with  a  gentle  and  omnipresent  influence, 
unfelt,  yet  not  the  less  real ;  to  the  bad  it  is  a  force 


168  MERCY  TO  BABEft»4 

external  and  severely  felt,  sternly  thundering  out 
its  penalties,  its  sanctions,  its  punishments,  placing 
against  them  a  barrier  they  cannot  leap,  and  calling 
to  its  aid,  even  when  men  the  most  reject  it,  powers 
in  man's  own  breast,  in  the  feelings  of  his  fellows, 
in  society,  and  even  in  the  elements  themselves, 
which  do  and  will  execute  its  decrees. 

Men  have  felt  this,  and  felt  there  is  something 
divine  in  "law;"  and  the  loftiest  and  the  holiest 
have  concluded,  that  this  that  we  call  "  law,"  is 
neither  more  nor  less  than  the  influence  and  ope- 
ration of  the  will,  and  power,  and  justice  of  God. 

Now  this  fact — which  we  take  as  a  fact — is  that 
which  completes  the  circle  of  facts  which,  with 
regard  to  the  infant  and  unconscious  citizen,  render 
the  possession  of  privileges,  and  the  consequent 
necessity  of  duties,  a  just  one  to  him.  1st,  There 
are  privileges  to  the  unconscious.  2d,  There  are 
duties  and  responsibilities.  3d,  These  duties  are 
such  as  his  nature  is  adequate  to,  and  capable  of 
bearing.  4th,  There  are  positive  institutions  which 
educate  him  to  the  knowledge  and  the  practice  of 
these  duties.  And,  5th,  Then  there  is  a  teacher, 
the  "  law,"  that,  through  all  these  institutions, 
speaks,  and  exerts  an  uniform  formation  influence. 

Take  away  any  of  these  conditions,  and  the 
first  fact,  that  he  is  unconscious,  invalidates  all  the 
rest,  and  places  him  in  a  wrong  and  unnatural 
position.  But  suppose  them  all  to  exist,  as  they 
all  do,  and  the  fact  of  his  unconscious  position  has 
in  it  no  absurdity,  but  is  a  most  wise  provision, 
and  a  defence  to  his  rights. 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  169 

Now  it  has  been  shown,  that  the  doctrine  of 
baptism  embraces  analogous  facts  to  these,  as  one 
should  imagine  it  ought  to  do,  from  the  state  of 
Christianity  being  represented  as  a  "covenant,"  a 
"kingdom,"  a  "  nation."  There  is  a  plain  assertion 
of  privileges  in  the  scripture,  as  I  have  shown,  of 
which  we  are  for  tlie  most  part  unconscious  ;  there 
are  duties  and  responsibilities  for  all  ages  springing 
from  these  real  privileges  ;  these  duties  are  such 
a.s  our  nature  is  adequate  to  ;  there  are  positive 
institutions  to  educate  to  the  knowledge  and  the 
acting  upon  these  duties  ;  and,  lastly,  there  is,  as 
in  the  world  which  is  governed  by  law,  a  spirit, 
which,  by  means  of  these  institutions,  educates,  and 
trains,  and  governs. 

All  these  conditions  are  specified  clearly  and 
distinctly  in  the  holy  scriptures — in  the  privileges 
of  baptism — Christian  duties  for  all  ages — the  fa- 
mily and  the  Church  to  train,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
as  working  through  and  by  both.  And  these,  fully 
seen  and  fully  appreciated,  make  up  the  complete 
cycle  of  the  conditions  and  elements  of  the  justice 
of  infant  citizenship  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  as 
of  infant  citizenship  in  the  state  on  earth.  These, 
in  their  reality  and  truth,  carry  out  that  practice 
through  the  life,  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other. 

Now  I  do  not  say,  nor  do  the  administrators  of 
the  baptism  of  John  pretend  to  say,  that  their  bap- 
tism is  a  baptism  of  privileges,  but  a  baptism  of 
declaration  ;  hence,  this  being  wanting,  all  the  rest 
is  grace.  The  Church  is  not  an  institution,  but  a 
voluntary  association.  Their  churches  speak  not 
8 


170  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

with  the  same  voice,  but  with  different  voices  ; 
there  is  not,  and  there  cannot  be  unity,  and  sjnrit- 
ual  law  there  is  not.  Now  this  being  so,  it  were 
folly  to  baptize  children — a  sheer  inconsistency. 
Whatever  arguments  they  may  use,  it  is  certain 
that  if  there  be  not  one  church,  one  faith,  one  spiritual 
law,  the  baptism  of  infants  is  a  thing  that  does  no 
good,  but  is  unjust. 

From  these  considerations  it  may  be  seen  how 
closely  connected  infant  baptism  is  with  the  doc- 
trine and  the  reality  o^ one  Church;  and  how  there 
must  ever  be,  in  those  that  have  left  that  doctrine 
and  practice,  a  tendency  to  deny  the  doctrine  of 
infant  baptism. 

Having  made  these  remarks,  which  tend  to 
clear  the  wa}^,  we  go  to  consider  the  effects  of  the 
doctrine  of  baptism,  especially  in  referenc  to  infant 
baptism,  upon  a  subject  most  important  at  the  pre- 
sent day,  the  subject  of  spiritual  law  and  Jiscipline. 
We  have  shown  how  nature  makes  tfje  parent  an 
educater  and  a  religious  law-giver  to  the  child  ; 
we  have  shown  how  the  doctrine  of  Christian 
baptism  (not  the  baptism  of  John)  brings  out  and 
completes  the  natural  position  in  Christianity  of  the 
parent ;  that  from  the  nature  of  the  home,  and  the 
relation  of  parent  to  child,  this  is  not  unjust  to  the 
child,  but  right.  And  we  proceed  to  examine  its 
bearing  upon  a  great  want  of  society  at  the  present 
da}^  the  want  of  a  "  spiritual  law,"  a  practical, 
uniform  law  of  Christianity,  that  shall  teach  the 
Gospel  to  all  classes,  as  the  "law"  teaches  and 
trains  all  classes  in  and  to  itself. 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  171 

The  institutions  of  this. that  we  call  Christianity, 
every  one  will  admit,  are  divided,  society  against 
society,  church  against  church,  doctrine  against 
doctrine  ;  they  utter  not  the  one  voice  as  to  doc- 
trine, or  as  to  practice,  they  are  not  manifold 
teachers  of  the  one  spirit ;  they  are  opposite.  True 
it  is  of  all  the  so-called  orthodox  sects,  they  teach 
morality  ;  and  yet  that  morality  is  in  no  respect 
different  from  the  morality  of  non-religious  men  ;  it 
is  a  morality  which  is  partly  that  of  negation,  and 
partly  is  the  mere  morality  of  the  natural  feelings. 

There  is  a  Christian  morality,  something  higher 
and  loftier  than  this.  We  have  read  a  good  deal  of 
the  history  of  ancient  nations,  and  we  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  saying,  that  we  know  not  of  any  Christian 
nation  yet,  whose  morality  is  at  all  equal  to  that  of 
the  Roman  nation,  the  "  plebs  Romana,"  from  the 
time,  we  will  say,  of  the  expulsion  of  the  kings 
till  the  death  of  the  Gracchi.  We  believe  that  the 
morality  of  Christianity  has  never  yet  been  the 
morality  of  any  nation,  nationally,  but  only  of  in- 
dividuals ;  that  it  can  be,  and  that  it  will  be  in  this 
our  land,  but  is  not  yet;  and  that  if  it  comes,  it 
will  come  in  no  other  way  than  this,  by  the  pro- 
duction within  Christianity  itself  of  a  "  spiritual 
law,"  analogous  to  the  "  law"  which  in  society  has 
been  at  work  so  unremittingly  since  the  revolution. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  present  state  of  the  re- 
ligious world,  as  to  the  effect  of  the  "law"  of 
Christianity.  Now  what  is  the  fact  as  to  religious 
societies,  are  they  institutions  that  exercise-  any 
such  influence  ?    Certainly  not.     They  are  volun- 


172  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

tary  associations,  the  will  of  the  mass,  this  rules  ; 
their  laws  and  rules  are  those  of  mere  convenience, 
of  mere  order ;  they  are  neither  ediicating  nor  traiji- 
ing  societies.  There  is  no  authority,  no  law  in 
them,  their  ministers  but  seldom  approach  the  peo- 
ple in  the  character  of  authority ;  nay,  points  that 
have  been  settled  in  the  Christian  Church  hund- 
reds of  years  ago,  these  are  brought  up  again,  and 
unsettled.  Now  what  we  say  is  this,  that  in  the 
present  Christianity  there  is  no  characteristic  dif- 
ference between  a  professor  of  religion  and  a  moral 
non-professor;  the  one  is  as  the  other,  save  that  he 
does  sometimes  wear  a  graver  face,  and  is  a  little 
more  set,  a  little  more  bigoted.  But  the  main  fact 
is  this,  that  they  differ  not  in  morality. 

One  in  the  civilized  state  is  differenced  at  once 
to  the  eye  from  a  savage,  by  a  thousand  things  in 
his  whole  being,  small  in  themselves  it  may  be, 
but  still  very  plain  and  very  manifest,  and  which  to 
every  one  bear  evidence  of  the  influence  of  "law" 
upon  him  ;  so  it  ought  to  be  with  the  Christian — 
so  it  is  not. 

And  the  difference  between  the  savage  and  the 
civihzed  man  is  in  two  things — first,  "self-subjec- 
tion." The  appetites,  passions,  desires,  in  the 
savage  rule  ;  and  these,  momentarily  as  they  arise  ; 
the  civilized  man  has  them  under  subjection,  "law" 
has  trained  them  to  the  uses  nature  intended  them 
for;  self-restraint  is  a  perpetual  evidence  of  the 
workings  of  "law"  upon  the  man  of  civilization. 
Again,  "law"  in  the  civilized  man  subdues  the 
will — the  man's   will  is  not  all,  he  may  wish  and 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  173 

desire,  but  still  "law"  has  taken  his  will  into  con- 
trol, it  fetters  it  by  the  will  of  thousands  ;  the 
sava2:e's  own  will  is  his  sole  motive  to  action. 

Now  I  ask,  wherein  is  the  Christian  at  the  pre- 
sent day  more  self-denying  than  the  non-professor? 
Self-denial  being  the  foundation  of  Christian  moral- 
ity, are  not  the  mass  of  Christians  just  as  luxurious, 
just  as  selfish,  just  as  little  subdued,  as  the  mass 
of  the  world?  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  training  of 
self-denial  prescribed  by  our  Saviour,  Christ,  and 
his  apostles,  under  the  shape  of  fasting,  is  done 
away  with,  and  even  scorned  and  flouted  at?  and 
that  there  is  no  greater  evidence  of  it  in  professors 
than  in  non-professors?  This,  every  one  must 
admit,  is  a  fact. 

Let  us  look  again  at  the  law.  Riches,  accord- 
ing to  the  Gospel,  is  the  root  of  all  evil.  We  know 
how  often  Christ  and  his  apostles  warned  against 
its  influence ;  we  ask,  then,  what  power  has 
Christianity  upon  the  rich,  or  over  them? 

Men  may  say  very  great — I  say  just  none  at  all. 
It  is  not  the  rich  that  support  the  Gospel,  but  the 
poor  ;  the  rich  give  not  in  proportion  to  their  riches. 
Take  any  religious  society,  divide  the  property  held 
by  them  into  two  parts  as  nearly  as  may  be,  put- 
ting on  one  side  the  two  or  three  extreme  rich  who 
have  incomes  or  properties  equal  to  those  of  the 
mass  together,  and  those  of  the  mass  upon  the 
other  side,  and  ten  times  a  greater  proportion 
comes  from  the  mass  than  from  these.  The  me- 
chanic of  five  hundred  dollars  a  year  gives  his  ten 
or  twenty  dollars  ;  the  man  of  five  thousand  gives 


174  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

his  fifty — and  who  rule  but  these  ?  It  is  time  that 
there  should  be  as  much  justice  in  religious  socie- 
ties as  there  is  in  mercantile  companies. 

Now,  we  will  say,  a  rich  man  is  divorced  for 
other  cause  than  adultery  ;  he  seeks  to  marry  again 
— where  is  the  ordinary  clergyman  who  dare  refuse 
to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony?  or,  if  he  did, 
where  is  the  support  that  would  give  him,  in 
Christianity,  that  protection  which  is  given  to  every 
constable  in  the  state  in  doing  his  duty? 

Again,  with  regard  to  the  discipline  over  the 
very  rich,  where  is  it?  The  criminal  law,  the  law 
of  public  opinion,  self-interest,  will  keep  a  man 
from  the  grosser  vices ;  but  within  these  limits 
there  is  a  multitude  of  offences  against  the  law  of 
Christ — where  is  the  power  of  the  law  of  Christ 
in  ordinary  against  these  things  in  the  exceedingly 
rich  ?  Know  we  not  that  a  man  may  do  a  multi- 
tude of  these  things,  and  yet,  because  of  the  com- 
petition among  religious  societies,  especially  if  he 
be  rich,  he  will  still  be  able  to  remain?  or  if  he 
goes,  because  he  is  rich,  has  influence,  is  fair  and 
plausible,  he  shall  be  received  with  gladness  in 
others  ?  So  that  now,  to  men  of  the  world  who  are 
shrewd  in  their  profession,  the  fact  of  a  man  being 
a  professor  of  religion,  is  no  prima  facie  evidence 
that  he  does  not  break  contracts  when  he  can  do  it 
safely,  that  he  does  not  defraud,  lie,  oppress  the 
poor,  and  extortionate.  And  the  richer  he  is  the 
less  certainty  there  is,  for  this  thing  we  call  Christ- 
ianity has  but  little  power  over  the  rich.  I  speak 
this  in  sorrow,  but  still  it  must  be  spoken. 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  175 

People  are  ready  to  rest  in  present  evils,  to  bear 
with  them,  to  say  these  things  are  unavoidable  ; 
certainly  they  are  unavoidable  under  a  Christianity 
that  gives  no  privileges,  that  has  710  unity,  that  is  sect- 
rent.  But  under  a  Christianity  at  unity,  under  a 
Christianity  that  is  founded  upon  a  covejiant  real  and 
true,  they  are  not  unavoidable ;  under  a  Christianity 
that  has  "one  faith,"  and  therefore  one  Church; 
*'  one  baptism,"  and  that  a  "  haqjtism  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,^^  (Christian  baptism,)  these  evils  are 
conquerable. 

In  old  Christianity,  which  was  so,  the  emperor 
of  half  the  world,  in  despite  of  all  power  and  all 
wealth,  had  to  bow  before  the  "law"  of  Christ- 
ianity as  the  meanest  transgressor,  (Theodosius.) 
And  again  in  a  hundred  instances  the  same  thing 
took  place  with  the  lords  of  the  world.  The  same 
thing  may  take  place  again,  nay,  shall ;  but  under 
a  Christianity  having  these  elements  alone,  not 
under  the  other. 

We  have  said  enough  to  prove  that  the  main 
deficiency  is  the  deficiency  of  a  spiritual  law. 

We  now  shall  go  on  to  examine  the  influence 
of  Christian  baptism  in  producing  this  law,  con- 
formably to  that  text  of  Paul — "  One  Lord,  one 
faith,  one  baptism;"  and  we  plainly  say  that  we 
understand  it  to  mean  neither  more  nor  less  than 
this,  one  God,  one  faith,  (and  therefore  one  Church) 
and  one  baptism,  (for  the  remission  of  sins,  that  is, 
Christian  baptism.)  We  will  take  the  child  first 
having  Christian  baptism  ;  his  position  in  a  cove- 
nant having  privileges,  and   responsibilities,  in  a 


176  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

home  which  is  by  its  nature,  as  defined  by  the 
scriptures,  holy,  under  parents,  we  will  say,  bap- 
tized with  the  same  baptism,  is  essentially  that  of 
one  "  under  law."  The  business  of  his  parents,  to 
draw  forth  his  privileges  into  action  and  duty,  is 
essentially  legal,  a  training  in  the  law  of  Christ. 
Day  by  day,  in  the  smallest  things  as  well  as  the 
most  important,  to  recognize  that  law,  to  be  con- 
scious of  it,  to  act  upon  its  motives,  to  live  by  its 
rules,  these  it  is  their  business  to  teach  him  as 
having  authority,  and  his  business  to  learn. 

The  covenant  was  first  with  a  family,  and  so 
at  the  present  day  the  family  is  to  the  young  citizen 
of  the  kingdom  the  first  influence  of  the  "  law  of 
Christ'*  upon  him.  Strictly  and  rigidly,  in  the 
family  under  Christian  baptism,  is  he  under  the 
*'  law  of  Christ."  Unity,  manifestly  under  such  a 
Christianity  then,  must  be  in  the  home,  for  all  mo- 
tives must  lead  the  parent  to  confer  upon  all  his 
children  the  *'  one  baptism."  Doctrine,  and  feel- 
ing, and  principle,  all,  in  him  who  acknowledges 
tJds  bajJtisjn,  lead  him  to  confer  it  upon  all. 

And  because  of  this  baptism  being  for  all  ages, 
the  Christianity  that  holds  it  must  be  a  teaching 
Christianity,  an  authoritative  Christianity,  a  Christ- 
ianity with  one  faith.  The  Church  then  steps  in  ; 
her  prayers  are  teachings,  (at  the  same  time  he 
prays,  he  learns.)  Doctrines,  which  a  divided 
Christianity  disputes  about,  these  he  is  certain  upon 
from  the  form  of  his  liturgy  ;  he  doubts  not  Christ 
is  God,  he  doubts  not  the  atonement,  he  doubts  not 
eternal  punishment ;  v/ith  the  one  baptism  ever  is 


MERCY   TO  BABES.  17  7 

connected  the  *'  one  creed,"  and  the  fact  of  a  liturgy 
as  the  means  and  instruments  of  the  one  faith. 

Let  us  then  consider  the  motives  of  him  under 
a  covenant,  and  we  shall  see  that  they  imply  '*  law, 
a  spiritual  law,"  as  the  foundation ;  they  actually 
and  really  produce  that  feeling  and  that  opinion. 
Christian  baptism  has,  as  I  have  said,  privileges, 
it  is  a  covenant.  Now  in  ordinary  what  is  it  that 
draws  forth  the  feeling  of  law  in  men,  in  a  state  ? 
This,  that  they  have  privileges  ;  law  defines, 
guards,  protects  these.  Having  life,  having  liberty, 
having  property,  these  make  a  man  feel  the  worth 
of  law,  these  make  him  think  upon  it  and  uphold  it. 

Christian  baptism  confers  privileges  ;  the 
knowledge  of  this  fact  produces  the  same  feeling. 
My  sins  are  remitted,  I  have  that  privilege ;  does 
not  the  knowledge  of  that  fact  make  me  obedient 
to  the  law  of  Christ,  and  produce  a  course  of  action 
in  me  according  to  his  royal  law,  the  law  of  faith, 
and  works,  and  charity,  that  may  retain  me  in  this 
position  ?  I  am  born  of  the  Spirit ;  feeling  this  as 
a  fact,  will  I  not  be  obedient  to  the  law  of  Christ  ? 
I  am  within  the  covenant ;  will  not  this  motive 
make  me  struggle  to  remain  within  it  ?  I  am  a 
member  of  Christ;  must  I  not  labor  and  pray  to 
make  my  calling  and  election  sure  ?  And  so  with 
regard  to  all  the  other  privileges  of  the  baptized, 
they  are  motives  that  directly  lead  forth  and  draw 
into  practice  the  belief  in  a  royal  law  of  liberty, 
the  practice  of  a  clear  and  definite  Christian  and 
spiritual  law. 

And  then,  in  direct  bearing  upon  this,  comes 
8* 


178  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

the  groat  fact,  that  a  covenant  with  God  once  con- 
cluded, cannot  be  undone.  Men  talk  of  the  un- 
spirituality,  the  want  of  power  in  the  Church  doc- 
trine. They  know  it  not.  Upon  this  the  Christian 
can  take  his  stand  with  a  face  to  the  individual, 
nothing  else  can  give.  This  completes  the  practical 
force  of  the  Gospel.  If  men  are  made  by  holy 
baptism  members  of  Christ,  children  of  God,  in- 
heritors of  the  kingdom  of  heaven — then  has  the 
minister  a  power  for  good,  a  moral  power  not  to 
be  estimated.  "  You  are,"  says  the  Sectarian,  "  by 
your  faith,  all  this;"  "well,  my  faith  is  lost  of 
course — I  am  no  longer  this — no  longer  bound  by 
the  duties  that  attach  themselves  to  these  relations  ; 
what  shall  I  do?"  *'  Pray  for  faith,  obtain  it,  and 
then  all  these  privileges  are  assured  to  you  again." 
This  is  the  manifest  way  upon  the  Sectarian  notion. 
It  seems  very  like  setting  the  man  or  woman  free 
from  the  responsibilities  in  the  mean  time. 

Well,  we  take  a  different  view,  we  say,  *'  you 
cannot  undo  that  which  is  done — you  are  still  a 
child  of  God — rebellious  by  your  own  account,  and 
disobedient;  by  remaining  so,  you  subject  yourself 
to  the  penalty — cease  then  sinning,  and  cease  being 
disobedient — a  member  of  Christ,  take  care  of  being 
an  unworthy  member — an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  beware  of  losing  the  inheritance." 
Which  is  the  more  practical  way?  that  which  tells 
the  more  effectually  every  one  can  see.  The  last 
manifestly  supposes  the  idea  of  law. 

Now  to  these  considerations  I  add  another  fact, 
which  a  great  many  deny,  but  which  their  position 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  179 

leads  them  to  deny,  that  there  is  and  ever  has 
been  in  the  world  one  visible  body,  the  holy 
Catholic  Church,  holding  one  faith,  one  ministry, 
teaching  by  authority,  one  baptism,'  one  tone  of 
feeling ;  that  this  Church  is  founded  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  has  the  one  apostolic  succession.  I  add 
this  fact,  for  which  I  refer  to  the  ordinar}^  books 
upon  Episcopacy,  Hobart,  or  Kip's  Double  Witness 
of  the  Church,  or  any  other  of  the  ordinary  books, 
and  then  I  have  the  circle  completed,  which  makes 
the  baptism  of  infants  a  true  and  real  instrument 
toward  the  spread  of  the  Gospel.  This,  in  its 
teachings,  its  educational,  and  legislative,  and  cor- 
rective capacity,  completes  the  circle.  This  is 
ever  inclusive,  it  tends  to  draw  all  others  within 
it;  it  is  holy,  the  privileges  it  confers  are  those 
spiritual  ones  which,  in  their  realization,  tend  to 
holiness  ;  its  action  upon  the  individual  is  such  as 
to  draw  forth  these  privileges  into  consciousness  as 
motives  to  holiness,  and  these  motives  to  reduce 
to  a  spiritual  love  of  holiness.  It  is  Catholic,  uni- 
versal, tending  to  become  of  itself  universal,  to 
spread  universally,  as  well  as  being  the  same  in  all 
ages  and  all  times. 

Now  let  us  put  these  elements  together,  and  we 
find  the  amount  is  this  : — First,  Christian  baptism 
is  the  conferring  of  actual  privileges.  Second, 
These  imply  duties  for  all  ages.  Third,  These 
duties  are  those  to  which  nature  is  adequate,  and 
therefore  can  be  justly  imposed.  Fourth,  TJiese 
are  positive  institutions,  the  family  and  the  Church, 
whose  business   it  is  to  train  to  a  knowledge  of 


180  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

these  duties.  Fifth,  The  Church  is  "  one  "  Catholic 
and  Apostolic — one  showing  the  spirit  of  law, 
which  is  and  must  be  one — Catholic,  fitted  for  all 
natures,  times,  places,  and  persons — and  Apostolic, 
having  authority.  Take  any  or  either  of  these 
conditions  away,  and  the  baptism  of  infants  is  an 
absurdity ;  let  them  exist  as  facts,  and  infant  bap- 
tism is  right  and  just.  And  all  of  them  are  plainly 
asserted  in  the  scriptures. 

Ye  that  deny  or  doubt  the  baptism  of  infants, 
examine  yourselves,  and  you  will  see  that  you 
deny  or  doubt  some  one  of  these  five  facts.  These 
are  the  motives  for  your  denial,  whatsoever  argu- 
ments you  may  use. 

Now  let  us  see  how  and  what  eflect  Christian 
baptism  would  have  upon  the  state  of  Christianity 
as  an  universal  thing.  The  effect  would  manifestly 
be  at  the  very  first,  that  all  children  of  Christian 
parents  would  be  brought  under  a  training  pecu- 
liarly Christian,  a  freedom  from  doubt,  and  fear, 
and  unbelief,  a  habit  of  ruling  themselves  after  the 
law  of  Christ  from  infancy,  more  or  less  perfect, 
according  to  the  character  and  knowledge,  but  still 
practical  and  at  unit}',  calm,  and  quiet,  and  deter- 
mined, obedient  to  the  law  of  Christ,  and  zealous, 
yet  opposed  to  excitement  and  fanaticism.  The 
generation  of  their  fathers  passes  away,  thc}^  come 
to  en2:a2;c  in  matters  of  relio;ion,  to  be  the  commu- 
nicants  of  churches  ;  there  is  one  spirit  among  them, 
the  spirit  of  unity  in  faith  and  feeling;  .the  tone  of 
Christianity  is  exalted,  it  speaks  in  one  law,  and 
from   generation  to  generation   the    spirit  of  the 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  181 

fathers  falls  upon  the  children ;  it  spreads,  and 
once  more  we  have  *'  one  faith,  one  God,  one  bap- 
tism," the  gift  of  a  saintliness  and  holiness  in  Christ- 
ianity, such  as  certainly  we  see  not  now. 

This  is  a  thing  not  to  be  done  by  societies  or 
by  united  efforts,  or  by  any  one  thing  but  this, 
that  each  parent  should  give  to  his  children  Chris- 
tian baptism,  and  act  up  himself  to  the  duties  that 
baptism  imposes. 


CHAPTER   I 


PART  III. 


Causes  of  the  Denial  of  Infant  Baptism.  1st.  Want  of  Faith.  2d. 
Predestination.  3d.  The  Conversion  Notion.  Note  on  Abrahamic 
Covenant. 

We  have  thus  examined  the  doctrine  of  baptism  as 
laid  down  in  the  holy  scriptures.  We  have  shown 
that  from  that  doctrine  as  plainly  as  can  be,  the 
practice  of  the  baptism  of  infants  follows  as  a 
necessary  consequence.  We  have  shown  how  it 
accords  with  the  nature  of  man.  The  question 
then  follows  naturally,  how  it  comes  to  be  denied 
by  so  large  a  class  of  men,  who  unquestionably 
are  pious  and  devoted  ?  This  comes  first  in  the 
most  part  of  our  investigation,  for  unquestionably 
the  motives  to  any  course  of  action  are  very  often 
wholly  and  entirelly  different  from  the  grounds 
upon  which  we  defend  them. 

Now  let  the  readers  of  this  book  who  are  in  the 
position  of  the  denial  of  baptism  to  infants,  examine 
themselves  as  they  go  along  with  me;  and  the  first 
and  most  manifest  is,  we  will  honestly  say,  a  want 
of  faith.     We  take  the  word  faith  as  the  scriptures 


184  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

use  it,  as  a  supreme  confidence,  and  unhesitating 
trust  in   the   promises   of  the  Almighty.     God   is 
almighty,  eternal,  omniscient,  my  Father,  my  King, 
my  Creator,  and  I  a  man  of  the  dust,  feeble,  and 
frail,  and  limited  in  power  as  in  intellect;   what 
then  should  be  my  feeling  towards  him?     Should 
it  not  be  an  ever-abiding  sense  of  His  power,  His 
wisdom,   His  goodwill  towards  me,  His  fatherly 
kindness  ?     If  men  had  these  feelings  to  the  full, 
would  not  these  feelings  reach  to  their  children? 
Would  they  not  say  to  them,  the  bone  of  my  bone, 
the  second  self  of  ourselves,    God   reigns  ?     And 
he  shall  be  to  them  because  of  my  faith  all  that  he 
is  to  me?     Because  of  my  trust  in  him  for  them, 
therefore  the  Almighty  power  shall  judge    them, 
therefore  my  faith  shall  bring  upon  them  blessings, 
therefore  they  shall  not  be  excluded  from  the  cove- 
nant in  which  I  am,   but  with  me  shall  enjoy  all 
its  privileges ;    and  the  eternal  power  shall  stand 
around  them,  the  eternal  wisdom  guide  them,  and 
the  infant  soul,  as  well  as  the  adult,  shall  feel  the 
care  of  its  Father  in  heaven.     Would  they  not  see 
this  world  as  a  place  of  trial,  the  Church  of  God 
as  the  house  of  an  eternal  Father,  and  babes  as  his 
children  as  well  as  full  grown  men.     And  instead 
of  looking  upon  the  world   as  a  waste,  wherein 
chance  and  circumstances  reign,  recognize  the  fact 
by  faith,  that  there  is  no  chance,  but  that  all  things 
are  guided  by  him;  and  that,  therefore,  their  chil- 
dren vowed  to  God  in  holy  baptism,  sealed  with 
his  name,  sanctified  by  faith,  cannot  perish,  save  of 
their  free  will  they  become  cast-away,  and  fling 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  185 

aside  the  salvation  that  is  theirs  by  covenant. 
Surely  this  would  be  the  feelings  of  those  fully 
embued  with  the  true  and  living  faith.  Whatsoever 
we  may  say,  the  baptism  of  infants  is  an  act  of 
faith,  and  without  it  such  baptism  is  unmeaning 
and  vague. 

But  again,  there  are  other  reasons,  and  one  of 
them  I  may  as  well  bring  forward  now.  There  is 
a  doctrine  that  says,  that  God  has  predestinated  a 
certain  small  portion  of  the  human  race  to  happi- 
ness, so  that  they  are  decreed  of  God  from  eter- 
nity to  be  saved,  and  must  be  saved,  and  the  rest 
are  decreed  to  eternal  misery  and  must  be  damned, 
or  else  are  past  over,  which  amounts  to  the  same. 
Now  if  that  doctrine  be  true,  what  is  baptism,  and 
what  is  infant  baptism — is  it  not  useless,  and  is 
not  the  decree  all  and  in  all  ?  Certainly  so.  For 
according  to  it,  in  the  predestinate,  God's  Spirit 
works — in  due  time  grace  brings  forth  the  fruit — 
they  are  baptized  in  his  name,  and  they  manifestly 
have  alone  the  right  to  baptism — to  them  alone  it  is 
properly  applied,  for  all  the  rest  must  perish. 

Of  course  then,  no  parents  can  know  that  their 
children  are  of  the  number  of  the  Elect,  and  to 
baptize  them  in  God's  name  who  may  be  children 
of  wrath — to  dedicate  to  God  those  who  may  be 
doomed  to  eternal  misery — to  make  them  members 
of  his  Church,  and  treat  them  as  such,  when  pos- 
sibly, from  their  infancy,  the  spirit  of  evil  may 
work  in  them  for  eternal  woe — this  would  be  a 
mere  mockery,  and  an  inconsistent  and  weak  pro- 
ceeding. 


186  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

Surely  to  those  who  hold  this  doctrine  consci- 
entiously and  firmly,  these  thoughts  must  occur. 
They  must  sslj  to  themselves,  "  We  shall,  as  in 
duty  bound,  pray  for  them,  train  them,  give  them 
all  the  advantages  we  can  give  them,  and  then  we 
shall  see  whether  God's  Spirit  works  in  them — we 
shall  see  if  they  be  of  the  body  of  the  Elect  to 
eternal  happiness,  the  fruits  and  signs  of  the  Spirit, 
and  then  consistently  and  truly,  they  can  take  upon 
them  then,  the  vows  of  baptism,  and  be  made 
members  of  the  Church."  So  this  predestination 
doctrine  fully  and  consistently  held,  renegates  and 
denies  the  baptism  of  infants. 

And  is  it  true?  Has  the  babe  been  preordained 
to  hell — for  if  the  man  has  been,  then  has  the  babe, 
since  the  decree  has  gone  out  from  eternity,  and 
stands  through  all  time,  and  therefore  the  babe  at 
its  birth  is  so  preordained  ?  No  :  this  is  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Fatalist,  not  the  doctrine  of  the  scrip- 
tures. There  is  a  predestination  in  the  scripture 
and  an  election.  And  every  where  they  are  called 
the  Elect  through  the  whole  scriptures,  who  belong 
to  the  Visible  Church  Christ  has  upon  the  earth. 
They  who  are  chosen  by  God  to  the  glorious 
adoption  of  sons,  to  the  privileges  of  the  Gospel, 
to  the  means  of  grace,  and  all  the  aids  and  helps 
which,  in  his  Church,  God  has  given  man  to  work 
out  his  own  salvation  by.  And,  therefore,  all  these 
helps,  which  in  the  first  part  of  this  treatise  I  have 
enumerated,  all  these  are  the  privileges  of  the  elect. 
And  he  is  "  Elect"  who  is  baptized  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  has 


MERCV  TO  BABES.  '  187 

these  privileges  by  Christian  baptism.  To  him  they 
were  given  by  God's  decree,  that  by  them  he 
should  stand,  and  by  his  own  free  will  he  should 
avail  himself  of  them  and  be  saved.  And  except 
of  his  own  free  will  he  cast  them  away,  he  shall 
be  saved.  All  circumstances  may  be  contrar}^ — 
his  nature  may  be  rebellious — he  may  be  left  with- 
out father  or  mother  to  train  him  in  the  ways  of 
God — he  may  be  flung  upon  the  world  desolate 
and  houseless — he  may  be  exposed  to  evil  com- 
panions, still  the  soul  of  God's  election,  the  seal  of 
baptism,  is  upon  him,  and  all  things  shall  work 
together  for  the  child  of  God's  Election;  the  Spirit 
shall  struggle  with  him,  the  tide  of  circumstances 
shall  fling  him  in  the  way  of  religion,  the  angels  of 
God  shall  guard  him,  all  things  shall  tend  for  his 
good,  and  by  many  paths  and  ways  he  knows  not, 
shall  the  Almighty  lead  him,  and,  save  by  wilfully 
casting  himself  away  f  he  shall  not  perish. 

This  is  the  true  doctrine  of  Election ;  and 
because  it  is  so,  the  Churchman  feels  that  the 
enrolling  the  infant  among  the  members  of  God's 
Visible  Church  upon  earth,  the  body  of  the  Elect, 
is  doing  a  deed  of  faith,  whose  results  can  only  be 
discerned  by  faith,  but  shall  be  fully  manifest  in 
eternity. 

Again,  there  is  another  doctrine  much  in  vogue, 
which  also  is  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  infant  bap- 
tisjn — another  doctrine  I  will  not  say,  but  a  set  of 
floating  notions — and  that  is,  the  opinion  ordinarily 
entertained  about  conversion.  Now  I  am  the  far- 
thest in  the  world  from  denying  the  fact  that  there 


188  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

is  a  real  and  true  conversion  unto  God,  farther  still 
fron:i  denying  that  there  is  a  most  important  change 
in  man's  feelings  and  affections  called  change 
of  heart ;  but  this  I  will  say,  that  the  ordinary 
floating  notions  upon  this  point  have  been  the  great- 
est barrier  that  can  be  to  infant  baptism.  It  is  as 
common  a  thing  as  can  be,  for  members  of  the  non- 
Episcopal  sects,  v^ho  are  not  Calvinistic,  to  say, 
when  the  baptism  of  their  children  is  suggested  to 
them — "  It  is  better  for  them  to  wait  until  they  are 
converted,  and  then  they  may  be  baptized  in  any 
way  they  like  ;"  and  undoubtedly  the  motive  that 
lies  at  the  bottom  of  such  talk  is  their  notions  of 
conversion,  combined  with  their  want  of  faith,  and 
their  ignorance  as  to  the  scripture  doctrine  of  bap- 
tism and  its  foundations.  With  regard  to  the  last 
two  things  we  have  plainly  spoken ;  how  want  of 
faith  comes  in,  may  be  seen  in  the  commencement 
of  this  chapter,  the  doctrine  of  baptism  is  enough 
explained  in  the  commencement  of  the  book. 

Now  with  regard  to  the  other  points  we  shall 
speak  plainly.  There  are  three  things  mentioned 
in  the  scriptures — 1st,  Regeneration,  or  the  new 
birth;  2d,  Conversion;  and,  3d,  Change  of  heart. 
With  regard  to  the  first,  we  have  explained  what 
it  means ;  that  it  takes  place  in  true  Christian  bap- 
tism by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  first,  in 
planting  the  life  of  God  in  man's  soul ;  and,  se- 
condly, introducing  him  into  the  Church  of  God, 
and  its  blessed  atmosphere  and  influences.  And 
we  add,  furthermore,  that  this  cannot  be  done  in 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  18^ 

any  other  than  the  appouited  way,  for  the  means 
that  Christ  has  instituted  there  is  no  aUernative,  no 
substitution  of  any  other  by  the  will  of  man  in  his 
interpretation  of  the  scriptures.  "  Except  a  man 
be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit  he  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God  ;"  this  is  an  exclusive  and 
prohibitory  declaration,  which  cannot  be  got  over. 
Repentance  may  be  of  the  sincerest,  and  faith  the 
most  lively,  and  therefore  the  man  by  them  may 
be  prepared  for  his  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ;  but  no  repentance,  however  agonizing,  no 
faith,  however  sincere,  can  void  the  ordinary  com- 
mandments of  God,  and  render  the  means  of  grace 
which  he  has  instituted  unnecessary. 

But  again,  we  acknowledge  that  there  is  a 
second  process,  "conversion;"  and  what  is  this? 
"  The  leaving  off  of  sin,  and  the  turning  unto  right- 
eousness upon  motives  of  religion."  Now  we  say 
this,  and  boldly  we  assert  the  fact,  that  according 
to  the  scripture  there  is  no  "  conversion"  without 
a  leaving  off  of  sin,  a  casting  aside  of  those  sins 
that  are  committed  by  the  individual ;  a  reforma- 
tion, it  must  be,  of  life,  and  that  true  and  real, 
else  it  is  no  conversion.  The  leaving  aside  of  sin, 
actual  and  real  sin,  under  which  the  individual  was 
in  bondage,  is  the  completion  and  the  crowning 
part  of  true  conversion.  First,  there  is  repentance 
from  dead  works  ;  secondly,  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  ; 
and,  thirdly,  because  of  this,  the  leaving  off  of  sin 
as  the  realizing  test  of  repentance,  the  doing  of 
good  works  as  that  which  realizes  and   tests  faith ; 


190  MERCy  TO  BABES. 

and  without  the  abandonment  of  sin,  without  the 
doing  of  the  works  of  the  Gospel  upon  the  motives 
of  the  Gospel,  there  is  no  true  "conversion." 

Thirdly,  There  is  a  state  in  which  faith  has 
become  habitual,  and  Christian  action  habitual,  in 
which  the  love  of  God  and  the  motives  of  the 
Gospel  ripen  and  rule  in  the  heart  of  man.  That 
is  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  God  dwelling  in  man, 
that  state  in  which  the  virtue  of  Charity  rules  in 
him,  to  which  none  attains  in  its  perfection,  save 
he  to  whom  the  description  given  of  charity  is 
applicable  ;  and  this  is  a  state  of  degrees,  none 
perhaps  of  mortal  men  ever  having  attained  to  it 
in  its  completeness,  and  yet  ever}^  one  beginning 
in  it  from  the  time  he  has  truo  repentance,  that  is, 
repentance  realized  by  abandonment  of  sin,  and 
true  faith,  that  is  faith  realized  by  Christian  works. 
This  I  conceive  to  be  the  state  called  "  change  of 
heart,"  or  "  sanctification,"  or  "  renewal  of  the 
Spirit  day  by  day,"  or  "  growth  in  grace,"  or 
"  perfection,"  or  '*  holiness,"  or  "  charity,"  or 
"  love,"  for  by  all  these  names  it  is  called. 

And  fully  am  I  justified  in  this  when  I  look  at 
the  human  heart,  even  of  the  regenerate  and  the 
pious  ;  when  I  see  the  power  of  old  habit,  the 
many  feelings  which  were  wrongly  directed,  and 
now  are  to  be  trained  anew  ;  the  fighting  and  the 
struggles  that  all  Christians  have  to  encounter  from 
within,  and  the  means  which  the  scripture  enjoins 
upon  men  to  use,  the  cautions  that  are  given  them, 
and  the  dangers  that  are  set  before  them  as  a  part 
of  their  lot;  when  I  look  at  all  these  things,  I  musf 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  191 

conclude  that  this  latter  process  is,  in  the  very  best, 
a  thing  slow  and  gradual,  of  which  man  in  this  life 
is  capable  only  in  a  degree,  and  in  which,  till  the 
end  of  life,  he  must  striv^e  to  rise  and  advance  per- 
petually. 

These,  then,  are  three  separate  and  distinct 
things,  and  yet,  in  the  case  of  the  ordinary  notions 
upon  conversion,  they  are  all  mixed  up.  He  who 
is  converted  is  led  to  believe  that  repentance,  acute 
sorrow,  we  will  say,  for  sin,  and  faith,  strong  belief 
in  the  atonement,  is  sufficient  ;  for  on  the  spot  he 
is  declared  "  converted,"  without  its  being  seen 
whether  his  sins  are  abandoned,  or  the  works  of 
the  Christian  life  are  done.  He  is  taught  to  apply 
to  himself  all  texts  that  speak  of  change  of  heart, 
instead  of  being  taught  that  his  work  is  to  labor 
and  pray,  and  do  the  works  of  the  Gospel,  and 
seek  the  grace  of  the  Spirit  to  aid  him  in  that  work 
of  bringing  all  things  into  subjection  to  the  will  of 
God.  And,  furthermore,  he  is  taught  to  apply  to 
that  mere  repentance,  without  abandonment  of  sin, 
hat  faith  without  good  works,  the  name  of  the  new 
birth,  or  regeneration,  so  plainly  applied  in  scrip- 
ture to  the  birth  of  water  and  the  the  Spirit.  No 
wonder  that  in  such  a  mixture  and  confusion  of 
scriptural  ideas,  that  baptism  for  infants  should  be 
rejected,  and  baptism  ibr  adults  become  a  mere 
form,  and  cease  to  be  considered  even  a  means  of 
grace. 

But  it  is  worth  while  more  fully  to  consider 
how  this  system  puts  an  end  to  and  destroys  infant 
baptism.      According  to  its    practice,    men    must 


192  MS  lie r  TO  BABES. 

acknowledge  that  preaching  is  taken  to  be  the  sole 
means  of  grace  ;  now,  to  comprehend  preaching 
and  be  affected  by  it,  manifestly  the  mass  of  men 
must  be  adults ;  children,  except  the  very  prema- 
ture, cannot  be  moved  by  it ;  they  have  not  the 
knowledge,  they  have  not  the  acquaintance  with 
the  world,  they  have  not  the  amount  of  actual  sin, 
and  they  have  not  the  passions  that  men  have,  or 
their  feelings.  As  a  practical  matter,  the  vast  mass 
of  those  converted  at  revivals  must  be  adults. 

But  again,  only  those  so  converted,  are  Christ- 
ians. Infants,  then,  must  be  excluded ;  nay,  the 
conscientious  and  religious  mother  and  father  must 
teach  them  so,  nay,  must  teach  them  that  baptism 
is  nothing,  that  this  is  all;  must  teach  them  that 
they  are  not  Christians,  that  they  have  no  right  or 
claim  to  the  privileges  of  Christians,  but  at  some 
future  time  are  to  obtain  them  by  this  process.  I 
will  not  stop  to  consider  how  this  cuts  away  respon- 
sibility, how  it  sets  them  freed  from  Christianity 
and  its  duties  ;  for  where  there  is  no  privilege  there 
can  be  no  duty,  and  no  consequent  responsibility. 
But  this  I  will  say,  if  this  system  be  true,  and  men 
act  consistently  with  it,  there  is  and  can  be  no 
covenanted  relation  between  the  innocent  infant- 
spirit  and  the  Almighty.  The  almighty  power  of 
the  Father  cannot  arrange  the  affairs  of  the  world 
to  educate  the  infant's  mind  ;  the  almighty  Spirit 
that  sanctified  John  from  his  mother's  womb,  can- 
not sanctify  the  infant;  he  that  begot  our  blessed 
Lord,  and  brought  it  about  that  the  almighty  Word 
hould  be  a  babe  in  the  womb,  cannot  plant  in  the 


MERCY   TO  BABES.  193 

babe  the  seed  of  eternal  life,  or  move  and  form  by 
his  eternal  power  the  infant-mind  to  religion.  He 
cannot  introduce  him  to  the  mysterious  privileges 
of  Christ's  Church;  the  ministry  of  angels  cannot 
be  aught  efficient;  the  trainings  of  God's  provi- 
dence, the  washing  away  of  original  sin,  all  these 
are  nothing ;  and  the  home  is  no  longer  a  temple 
of  the  living  God,  and  the  father  and  the  mother 
representatives,  and  sanctified  agents  of  Christ  and 
the  Church.  Nay,  more  than  this  :  knowing  as  we 
do  that  the  sense  of  sin  awakes  in  the  child  just 
so  soon  as  responsibility  awakes,  and  that  this  is 
practically  a  long  time  before  "the  conversion" 
which  our  dissenting  brethren  preach,  the  child  is 
left  to  sin,  without  a  remedy.  All  these  things  are 
destroyed,  nullified,  put  out  of  the  way,  by  the 
ordinary  notions  of  conversion,  and  conversion 
confined  to  the  adult. 

It  makes  no  matter  that  men  say,  "  we  do  not 
so  confine  it."  We  admit  that  children  may  be 
converted,  while  they  take  it  for  granted  that 
preaching  is  the  sole  means  of  grace,  and  confine 
the  name  of  Christian  to  the  men  and  women  that 
make  a  profession  of  religion,  &c.  The  result  of 
their  practice  shows,  that  of  their  system  only 
adults  are  capable. 

But  are  infants  or  children  capable  of  conver- 
sion— are  they  capable  of  repentance,  and  capable 
of  faith  ?  They  are  ;  but  not  under  any  system 
that  shuts  them  out  of  God's  covenant ;  not  under 
any  system  that  denies  to  them,  because  they  are 
babes,  the  blessed  privileges  of  that  covenant.  As 
9 


194  MERCY  TO  BABE&. 

baptized  in  the  Church  by  the  true  Christian  bap- 
tism, the  baptism  of  remission  of  sin,  in  this  case, 
just  as  soon  as  the  child  knows  what  God  is,  just 
as  soon  as  he  knows  that  God's  law  is  binding  upon 
him,  just  so  soon  he  is  capable  of  being  converted, 
for  the  almighty  Spirit  dwells  in  him,  and  aids  his 
natural  infirmity;  and  his  relation  to  his  father  is 
to  him  an  instruction  of  which  he  may  be  uncon- 
scious, of  his  relation  to  his  almighty  Father,  his 
relation  to  his  mother,  of  his  relation  to  the  Church. 
They  tell  him  that  he  is  a  child  of  God,  and  there- 
fore that  he  must  obey  God  ;  they  instruct  him  that 
such  and  such  is  the  will  of  God,  and  that  therefore 
he  must  act  in  this  way — and  he  believes  them  ; 
is  not  tJiis  faith ^  The  belief  of  an  innocent  child, 
seated  upon  his  mother's  knee,  and  hearing  from 
her  of  Christ,  and  how  he  was  born  and  died,  and 
Jiow  we  must  obey  his  laiv,  and  striving  to  do  so  under 
his  mother's  teaching  and  her  guidance,  kneeling 
at  her  knee,  and  with  the  child-like  awe  and  reve- 
rence of  which  only  children  are  capable,  praying 
to  his  Father  in  heaven  with  upturned  eye — is  not 
this  faith  ?  Yes,  it  is — and  each  mother  in  the 
Church  knows  it  by  experience,  for  in  that  feeble 
babe's  soul  is  the  seed  of  heaven  planted  by  the 
eternal  Spirit  at  baptism  ;  behind  that  feeble  in- 
fantile germ  of  mind  is  the  framing  and  moulding 
influence  of  the  eternal  Spirit;  as  in  the  ever-blessed 
babe  of  Bethlehem,  by  the  influence  of  the  same 
eternal  God  in  the  flesh,  almighty,  all-knowing, 
late  a  feeble  suckling  upon  the  knee  of  "  her  whom 
all  generations  shall  call  Blessed." 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  195 

Are  not  such  infants  capable  of  repentance? 
Surely  we  have  seen  it ;  we  have  seen  the  influ- 
ence of  human  nature,  which  remains  even  in  the 
ren:enerate,  stru2:Q;linor  and  breakino:  through  the 
law  of  God,  as  manifested  to  the  child  by  the  legis- 
lators God  has  appointed  to  childhood,  the  father 
and  the  mother ;  we  have  seen  in  the  child  sorrow 
upon  the  motives  of  the  Gospel,  godly  sorrow  ;  w^e 
have  heard  the  blessing  and  instructions  of  the 
father  and  mother,  and  seen  the  prayer  bringing 
down  forgiveness  and  absolution  ;  for,  with  Augus- 
tine, we  do  hold  that  prayer,  with  repentance  and 
faith,  brings  true  and  real  remission  of  sin.  We 
hold,  then,  that  children,  so  baptized,  are  capable 
of  conversion  ;  and  more  than  this,  that  they  are, 
in  the  majority  of  cases,  "converted"  actually  and 
really,  if  they  have  a  religious  father  and  mother, 
and  the  home  is  what  it  ought  to  be,  before  they 
are  seven  years  old.  Is  it  so,  we  will  ask,  with 
the  children  of  those  who  are  under  the  ordinary 
notion  ?     Certainly  not — by  our  own  experience. 

Nay,  we  will  go  farther  than  this — we  will  say 
that,  according  to  our  own  experience,  the  change 
of  heart  takes  place  in  them,  in  the  mass  of  cases, 
in  youth.  By  the  holy  training  of  the  home,  the 
baptized  child  is  taught  to  act  upon  the  motives  of 
the  Gospel,  to  be  obedient  to  the  laws  of  Christ, 
upon  principle,  steadily  and  consistently  to  go 
according  to  his  will,  and  this  takes  place  in  child- 
hood and  youth.  We  have  known  many  cases  of 
it,  and  we  will  say,  as  far  as  our  knowledge  is 
concerned,  they  who  are  born  in  the  Church,  and 


196  MERCY  TO  BABE&. 

are  acknowledged  to  be  most  pious  and  devoted, 
in  them  "the  change  of  heart"  that  comes  from  an 
obedience  in  all  things  to  Christ's  law  upon  prin- 
ciple, in  them  this  change  takes  place  before  the 
years  of  maturity.  That  it  should  be  so,  we  be- 
lieve ;  that  it  is  not  so  with  the  numbers  of  those 
who  date  their  religion  from  their  "  conversion"  at 
revivals,  we  believe  to  be  a  fact. 

Now  we  have  already,  in  more  than  one  place, 
shown  the  adaptiveness  of  infant  baptism  to  that 
crisis  in  the  child's  life  in  which  the  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility, and  of  a  law  to  be  obeyed,  and  of  sin, 
consequently  arises  ;  we  have  shown  how  the  feel- 
ing that  the  child  is  a  member  of  Christ,  a  child  of 
God,  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and 
the  fact  that  it  is  so,  work  together.  We  have  seen 
how  this  child  may  be  converted,  as  a  child  ;  and 
we  know  enough  of  children  to  know  how  the  prin- 
ciple of  steady  and  consistent  obedience  to  the  law^s 
of  Christ  may  be  established  in  the  heart  of  the  boy 
or  the  girl. 

Now  let  the  father  or  the  mother  consider  what 
is  the  most  dangerous  point  in  the  life  of  the  young. 
Is  it  not  the  time  when  the  passions  awake  V  Surely 
this  is  time  of  peculiar  danger  to  the  religion  and 
the  morality  of  men.  We  may  have  new  theories 
and  notions  as  to  the  matter,  but  the  old  one  of  the 
Church,  Father  Augustine's,  is  true — '*  that  the 
passions  of  the  fornes  peccati,"  "  the  fuel  of  sm." 
The  experience  of  all  men  and  women  tells  them 
this  ;  their  sins  become  habits,  and  vices,  and 
wickednesses,  and  then  all  the  frames  of  mind  that 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  197 

are  against  God's  law  are  perijianently  founded. 
The  word  "  moralit}","  in  the  Unitarian  sense,  had 
been  before  that  an  adequate  expression  of  man's 
condition;  but  after  that,  "religion"  is  the  only 
expression  that  it  is  capable  of.  Now  taking  it  as 
a  fact,  that  in  passing  from  childhood  to  manhood, 
the  awakening  of  the  passsions  is  a  storm  that  the 
moral  nature  of  all  must  meet  and  pass  through  as 
best  it  can — which  is  best  prepared  to  meet  it,  he 
who  has  been  converted  in  childhood,  and  under 
the  guidance  of  the  means  God  has  appointed,  has 
learned  as  a  principle  to  obey  God's  laws,  to  walk 
in  his  way,  and  to  have  recourse  to  his  Redeemer 
and  his  Spirit  in  all  things  ;  he  whose  heart  is  truly 
changed,  as  I  have  seen  that  it  may  be  changed  ; 
or  that  one  w*ho,  as  a  babe,  has  been  denied  the 
precious  privileges  of  infant  baptism,  as  a  child 
has  been  taught  that  he  was  no  Christian,  and  as 
a  youth,  in  consequence,  has  felt  no  allegiance  to 
Christ,  no  aid  of  the  Spirit,  no  blessedness  in  prayer 
— and  all  this  because  "  his  parents  do  not  believe 
in  baby-sprinkling  ?  " 

1  hey  who  read  this  book  can  tell  whether  their 
system  gives  any  aid  to  the  youth  at  those  two  most 
important  crises,  the  awaking  of  the  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility, and  the  awaking  of  the  passions.  I 
have  looked  at  it  carefully,  and  I  have  not  seen 
that  it  does,  and  with  regard  to  the  last  mentioned 
crisis,  it  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  the  process 
they  call  conversion  cannot  be  undergone  at  all 
save  by  those  in  whom  the  passions  have  already 
awakened.     And  certainly  the  mass  of  those  that 


198  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

are  converted  are  those  in  whom  that  era  has 
passed.  With  us,  when  the  father  and  the  mother 
do  their  duty  consistently,  "conversion"  and 
*'  change  of  heart"  takes  place  in  childhood,  and 
that  most  dangerous  period  is  met  with  all  the 
aids  of  religion,  fixed  by  habit  and  established  in 
principle. 

And  to  this,  more  than  any  thing  else,  to  this 
fact,  that  in  the  mass  of  cases  the  religion  of  the 
religious  in  the  Episcopal  Church  dates  before  the 
awakening  of  the  passions  is  due,  the  fact  acknow- 
ledged by  all,  that  our  tone  of  piety  is  more  calm, 
more  stable,  more  quiet,  than  that  of  others.  In 
fact,  in  such  a  case,  that  properly  called  fanaticism 
is  impossible,  even  to  those  of  the  greatest  fervor 
of  natural  temper. 

We  have  digressed  upon  this  point  from  the 
object  of  this  chapter,  but  we  hold  ourselves  per- 
fectly excused  by  the  importance  of  the  subject. 
We  return  to  it  again  :  on  the  Calvinistic  notion, 
infant  baptism  is  and  must  be  an  inconsistent 
practice.  On  the  ordinary  "  revival  notion "  of 
conversion,  it  evidently  must  be  so  also.  Now 
we  ask  of  the  readers  of  this  book  to  go  over 
these  grounds  and  to  see  whether  it  is  not  so ; 
whether,  by  the  believer  in  these  systems,  baptism 
is  not  made  a  mere  form  and  a  nothing,  and 
consequently  infant  baptism  is  not  altogether  cut 
away?  We  demand  of  those  that  hold  these 
systems,  to  recognize  their  own  position,  to  see  it 
clearly,  and  to  know  that,  because  of  the  system 
they  hold,  they  deny  infant  baptism,   and  not  to 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  199 

think  that  they  are  arguing  merely  upon  scripture, 
when  they  take  for  granted  schemes  of  doctrine 
which,  if  the  doctrine  of  baptism  were  as  plainly 
stated  as  it  is  in  this  book,  would  cause  them  to 
interpret  it  another  way.  This  is  to  be  honest, 
and  this  we  expect  of  every  reader  of  this  book. 

We  know  men  may  perhaps  feel  angry  with 
us  for  this,  but  still  this  is  a  fact,  that  men,  honest 
and  true,  may  imagine  they  are  arguing  wholly 
upon  scripture,  when  they  are  merely  speaking 
scripture  after  a  theory  they  have  received,  upon 
ver3^  inadequate  grounds. 

We  instance  in  our  Church  cases  connected 
with  men,  whose, piety,  and  honesty,  and  truthful- 
ness, none  doubt.  Scott,  the  eminent  commenta- 
tor, a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  was  a 
Calvinist ;  he,  and  all  that  school,  called  Evangeli- 
cals, had  signed  the  articles  of  the  Church  of 
England  honestly  and  truly  I  believe  ;  they  denied 
however,  the  doctrine  of  baptism,  as  plainly  written 
in  her  formularies  as  may  be,  yet  they  were  mea 
honest,  and  true,  and  pious  ;  but  they  had  a  system 
preoccupying  their  minds  inconsistent  with  their 
doctrine,  and  so  were  deluded.  And  so  John  and 
Charles  Wesley,  unquestionably  honest  and  pious 
men,  did  the  same. 

Now  if  these  men  could  do  so,  let  the  reader  of 
this  book  think  it  no  offence,  that  I  caution  him 
lest  it  may  be  so  with  him ;  that  I  ask  him  clearly 
to  set  before  his  mind  whether  he  is  arguing  upon 
scripture  as  it  stands  in  the  plain  literal  sense,  or 
is  interpreting  it  by  a  sj^stem.     Let  him  not  be 


200  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

offended  that  I  demand  of  him  to  set  the  fact  plainly 
before  his  mind,  and  having  ascertained  whether  it 
is  so  or  not,  to  consider  his  position  in  consequence 
of  it.  I  demand  of  him  then  to  put  on  the  one  side 
his  theory  of  "  predestination  to  hell  or  heaven," 
or  his  "revivalist  theor}?-  of  adult  conversion,"  and 
on  the  other,  the  plain  doctrine  of  the  scriptures  as 
to  baptism,  and  make  his  choice.  For  this  is  a 
plain  fact  to  my  mind — the  predestination  theory 
is  adverse  to  infant  baptism — the  conversion  theory 
also  is  inconsistent  with  it — one  or  the  other  is 
right  or  wrong,  but  both  cannot  dwell  together. 


THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT. 

S^'stems  as  held  intellectually  always  tend  to  be  intellectually  con- 
sistent ;  and,  therefore,  when  Calvinism  disengaged  itself  from  the 
Chnrch  in  the  shape  of  Presbyterianism  and  Congregationalism,  large 
masses,  feeling  the  inconsistency,  as  we  have  stated  it,  became  "  Bap- 
tists," so  that  in  this  country  all  they  that  are  "  Baptists,"  save  only  a 
few,  ought  to  have  been  Congregationalists  and  Presbyterians, 

Still  the  system  of  the  Church  was  made  to  correspond  with  human 
nature,  that  is,  the  whole  man,  not  intellectually  alone,  but  morally 
also,  and  physically.  And,  therefore,  even  in  those  that  do  hold  Cal- 
vinism, a  system  intellectually  inconsistent  with  the  baptism  of  infants, 
there  is  a  longing  a^ter  that  baptism.  And  infants  are  so  baptized.  We 
have  spoken  above  of  its  inconsistency ;  in  the  text  may  be  seen  further 
proofs  still ;  how  a  baptism  of  mere  faith  and  repentance,  and  of  no 
privileges,  no  grace,  no  remission,  can  be  in  any  degree  useful  to 
infants,  is  not  easy  to  see. 

But,  however,  such  a  baptism  is  administered  ;  chiefly,  we  believe, 
in  accordance  with  the  demands  of  the  nature  of  man.  The  way  it  is 
defended  is  this — it  is  administered  as  succeeding  circumcision,  which 
was  given  to  Abraham,  and  therefore  upon  the  grounds  of  the  "  Abra- 
hamic  covenant." 

Now  if  it  be  said,  that  the  Christian  covenant  is  the  same  with  that 
of  Abraham,  and  that  the  covenant  of  Abraham  was  one  of  faith  and 


MERCY   TO  BABES.  201 

spiritual,  and  that  baptism  succeeds  circumcision,  we  have  no  objection 
in  the  world  to  it ;  but  if  it  be  said  that,  at  this  day,  there  are  two 
covenants,  "  the  Abrahamic,"  under  which  are  baptized  babes,  the 
Christian,  under  which  are  "  converted  "  and  predestinate  adults,  we 
say,  that  a  more  monstrous  fiction  never  existed.  We  say,  that  babes 
and  parents  are  under  the  one  covenant  alike,  blessed  with  the  same 
privileges,  and  these  spiritual ;  and  are  alike  capable  of  them  by  their 
nature,  and  by  the  nature  of  the  doctrine  of  baptism. 


CHAPTER    IT 


PART  III. 


The  Commission  does  not  imply  that  Baptism  must  always  be  preceded 
by  Belief. 

After  the  previous  chapter,  which  shows  the 
motives  which  induce  men  to  deny  the  baptism  of 
infants,  because  upon  the  notions  there  exposed, 
they  must  reduce  baptism  to  a  mere  form,  the 
examination  naturally  comes  of  the  texts  upon 
which  baptism  is  denied.  And  the  first  and  most 
prominent  is  the  commission. 

Matt,  xxviii.  18 — 20.  "  And  Jesus  spake  unto 
them,  saying.  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven 
and  in  earth.  Go  3^e  therefore,  and  teach  all  na- 
tions, baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 

o 

manded  you :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

Now,  upon  the  various  points  of  the  commission, 
I  would  remark,  and  ask  the  attention  of  my  rea- 
ders. Now  I  would  ask  of  the  candid  Christian  to 
remark  the  connexion  between  the  first  and  the 


MKRCY  TO  BABES.  203 

second  clauses  of  that  commission  given  by  our 
ever-blessed  Lord. 

*'  All  power  is  given  me  in  heaven  and  earth," 
I  am  by  the  gift  of  the  Father  "  omnipotent,"  and 
therefore,  "go  ye,  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them," 
&c.  The  omnipotence  of  Christ  has,  as  its  conse- 
quence, the  commission  to  baptize.  The  power  and 
authority  to  baptize  is  an  immediate  consequence 
of  his  omnipotence.  This  connexion  lies  upon  the 
force  of  the  commission. 

Now  if  baptism  be  a  mere  rite,  a  mere  form, 
and  is  of  no  effect,  what  need  of  this  connexion  so 
solemnly  stated  ?  We  read  not  that  John  received 
such  a  commission  as  the  disciples  did,  prefaced 
with  the  authority  of  omnipotence ;  we  read  too, 
that  John  is  greater  than  all  the  prophets,  but 
*'  yet  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  greater 
than  he,"  the  least  minister  of  the  kingdom  that  is. 
If  John's  baptism,  the  baptism  of  mere  repentance, 
and  faith,  be  Christian  baptism,  how  can  this  be? 
if  Christian  baptism  be  a  baptism  without  privileges 
and  without  effects,  whose  sole  end  is  a  dedication 
of  faith  before  the  congregation,  what  need  this 
solemn  preface '? 

But  if  his  kingdom  be  a  real  and  true  kingdom, 
the  covenant  a  real  and  true  covenant,  binding 
upon  the  Eternal  Father  as  upon  us — if  to  those 
who  after  faith  and  repentance  receive  that  cove- 
nant, these  privileges  are  conferred  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  that  Holy  Spirit  is  almighty  and  eternal, 
sent  by  the  Father  and  the  Son,  then  the  commis- 
sion to  baptize  is  duly  prefaced  by  a  declaration  of 


204  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

our  Lord's  omnipotence.  If  baptism  be  for  the 
remission  of  sin,  which  none  but  God  can  remit — if 
it  be  for  the  application  to  the  believing  of  the 
Atonement  of  the  Almighty  Son — if  it  be  for  the 
implanting  of  a  spiritual  life  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  the  nourishing  of  it,  and  the  work  of  baptism 
is  done  by  the  almighty  Spirit,  then  well  may  the 
commission  be  prefaced  by  a  declaration  of  His 
omnipotence — for  to  such  a  baptism  who  is  suffi- 
cient ?  What  power  ?  Only  omnipotence.  Accord- 
ingly he  says,  "  All  power  is  given  me — go  ye 
therefore  and  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  baptiz- 
ing them." 

And  it  seems  to  me,  that  if  men  had  thought 
sufficiently  of  this,  that  the  commission  to  baptize  is 
connected  with,  and  founded  upon,  the  omnipotence 
of  Christ;  that  it  is  a  baptism  "  in  the  name  of  the 
Father  (almight3^)  the  Son  (almighty,)  the  Holy 
Ghost  (almighty,)"  we  should  have  less  discussion 
about  the  baptism  of  infants.  Seeing  that  infancy 
places  them  not  beyond  the  redemption  of  the  Son, 
of  which  all  men  now  acknowledge  them  capable 
— and  if  they  can  be  redeemed  by  Christ's  blood, 
why  not  baptized  in  his  name?  Seeing  too,  that 
infancy  is  not  beyond  the  providential  teaching  and 
guidance  of  the  Father — seeing  too,  that  the  feeblest 
infant  has  a  spirit  that  can  be  wnnight  upon  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  as  we  see  was  the  case  with  John. 

But  persons  will  say,  but  this  declaration  of  his 
omnipotence  is  not  connected  with  the  right  to 
baptize  exclusive^,  it  is  with  the  whole  commis- 
sion, it  refers   to  teaching,   to  going  forth   in  faith, 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  205 

and  so  forth,  not  to  baptism,  which  is  only  a 
form. 

With  regard  to  this  we  say,  "  baptism  is  not 
merely  a  form,"  as  any  one  may  see  who  will 
give  a  due  examination  to  the  previous  part.  It  is 
in  the  effects  which  we  attribute  to  it  the  work  of 
the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  in 
their  name,  and  therefore  omnipotence  is  the  pre- 
face to  it. 

Again,  we  say,  that,  admitting  the  preface  to 
refer  to  the  whole  commission,  baptism  is  therein, 
and  to  it  as  well  as  the  other  parts  it  must  refer. 
We  say  that  men  can  do  all  the  rest,  and  have 
done  all  the  rest  of  themselves  and  their  own  power 
unauthorized,  but  to  confer  Christian  baptism  is 
another  matter;  a  commission  is  necessary  on  the 
one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  the  pledged  co-operation 
of  the  almighty  Spirit.  In  fact,  on  no  other  idea 
than  that  of  a  baptism  conferring  supernatural  and 
heavenly  privileges,  and  wrought  out  therefore  upon 
all  by  Almighty  power,  can  this  preface  be  sus- 
tained. This  we  look  upon,  therefore,  as  sustaining 
the  doctrine  of  Christian  baptism,  and  is  not  to  be 
explained  otherwise. 

Another  remark  w^e  shall  make:  the  word  all 
nations,  is  general  in  this  commission  :  nation  is  an 
assembly  of  men,  and  women,  and  children,  it 
must  therefore  be  taken  so;  but,  sa}^  they,  the  word 
"teach,"  limits  it.  Yes,  to  be  sure,  to  those  that 
are  teachable,  if  the  English  word  "teach"  is  the 
exact  correspondent  to  the  Greek  ;  well,  for  argu- 
ment  sake,   say   it  is.     "  The  infants   cannot  be 


206  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

taught,  it  must  be  adults."  "  Infants  can  be  taught, 
there  are  infant  schools  in  this  day."  Well,  babes 
cannot  be  taught — not  by  man,  but  by  God  they 
can,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  they  can.  Now,  good 
reader,  look  at  this — ■"  teach  all  nations — ^baptizing 
them;"  it  does  not  say,  first  teach  them,  and  then 
baptize  them,  but  teach  them — baptizing  them. 
Now  I,  by  baptism,  dedicate  an  infant  to  God  by 
the  commission  of  the  Almighty — I  give  him  up  to 
the  eternal  Spirit  and  omnipotent,  to  him  who 
taught  the  soul  of  John  before  he  was  born,  to  him 
whose  teachings  can  reach  the  heart  and  mind, 
even  of  a  babe  unborn.  Do  I,  therefore,  according 
to  the  principles  of  Christian  baptism,  *'  teach  " 
that  child,  "baptizing  him  or  not?"  Certainly  I 
do ;  the  common  sense  of  every  man  can  see. 

Even  so,  upon  the  translation  "  teach,"  the 
commission  takes  in  infants  when  we  hold  to  the 
true  doctrine  of  baptism.  But  the  Greek,  though 
it  may  be  translated  "  teach,"  is  not  exclusively 
this,  it  is  more  properly  "  make  disciples  " — "  make 
disciples  of  all  nations — baptizing  them."  This 
brings  it  out  still  more  plainly,  "  make  disciples  of 
them — baptizing  them."  For  in  baptism  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  Teacher,  has  the  main  work,  and  to 
him  the  work  of  Christian  baptism  is  attributed. 
How  then  are  they  taught  by  baptism  ?  how  are 
they  made  disciples?  Certainly  if  that  teaching 
had  reference  barely  to  the  instruction  of  man,  if 
that  discipleship  only  embraced  that  which  we  see, 
it  were  poor  indeed,  poor  discipleship.  Yet  let 
the  Christian  take  his  faith,  which  is  the  eye  of 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  207 

things  unseen — let  him  view  the  Holy  Spirit  who 
is  poured  out  upon  our  sons  and  our  daughters, 
who  shall  teach  you  all  things — let  him  look  at  the 
course   of  God's   providence,    wherein   all   things 
work  together — let  him   look   to   the   ministry   of 
angels — all  these  privileges,  strictly  coming  under 
the  privileges  of  disciples,  and  then  shall  he  see 
why  omnipotence  is  a  preface  to  the  commission 
to  baptize — then  shall  he  see  how  the  Christian  by 
being    baptized    is    made    a   disciple    and   taught^ 
baptism  to  adults  and  to  infants,  admitting  to  this 
teaching.     Let  him  look  to  angel  and  archangel,  to 
cherubim  and  seraphim,  and  the  whole  company 
of  heaven,  intellects  far  reaching,  and  wide  work- 
ing, and  think  that  to  them  we  are  given  up,  and 
ask  if  to  their  teaching,  or  to  the  teaching  of  the 
almighty  Spirit,  or  to  the  teaching  of  God's  provi- 
dence, aught  is  requisite  save  the  possession  of  a 
soul  that  can  be  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ 
our  Lord,  and  innocence  from  actual  sin.     I  sup- 
pose this  is  enough  in  reference  to  that  objection 
that  rests  upon  the  word  teaching,   and  supposes 
that  only  adults  can  be  ''  taught." 

We  take  now  the  other  version  of  the  commis- 
sion, Mark  xvi.  15,  16  :  "  And  he  said  unto  them, 
Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature.  He  thatbelieveth,  and  is  baptized, 
shall  be  saved;  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be 
damned."  Therefore,  say  certain  persons,  infants 
cannot  be  baptized,  for  they  cannot  believe. 

Very  well :  then  must  they  be  damned,  because 
you  assert  infants  do  not  believe  and  cannot,  there- 


208  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

fore  by  the  second  verse,  they  must  be  damned. 
"  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned  " — infants 
cannot  believe,  therefore  infants  must  be  damned. 
Let  those  who  argue  in  this  way  get  out  of  the 
damnation  of  «ZZ  babes  that  die  in  babyhood  if  they 
can.  The  old  Calvinists  were  blamed  because 
they  said  some  infants  were  "  elect,"  in  their  use 
of  the  word  "elect;"  and  therefore  asserted  some 
infants  or  babes  dying  in  infancy,  were  damned  ; 
but  this  notion  asserts  that  all  i?ifantSf  dying  before 
they  can  speak,  are  damned. 

But,  again  :  "  he  that  believeth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved."  "  Simon  himself  also  believed, 
and  was  baptized,"  therefore  Simon  was  saved. 
Yes,  but  Simon  fell  away.  Surely  he  did,  but  is 
not  "  shall"  used  there  ? 

There  is  no  getting  out  of  this,  no  means  of 
evasion  :  it  must  be  possible  that  the  faith  of  others 
will  go  for  the  infant,  so  as  to  qualify  him  for  bap- 
tism, or  he  be  capable  of  faith,  or  else  all  infants 
that  die  in  infancy  must,  by  the  very  terms  of  the 
commission,  be  damned.  Let  the  reader  think  of 
it,  let  him  think  what  a  hideous  mockery  it  is,  that 
the  very  commission  which  the  Lord  of  all  mercy, 
he  who  blessed  babes  and  loved  them,  should  be 
so  interpreted  as  to  demand  damnation  upon  the 
babes  his  blood  redeemed.  Men,  it  is  true,  do  not 
press  upon  this  now;  they  have  omitted,  they  let 
it  slip,  but  still  by  their  principles  they  exclude 
infants,  because  they  have  not  faith  ;  theirs,  forsooth, 
is  "  believer's  baptism,"  exclusively  and  peculiarlv. 
Paedobaptism  is  of  course  the  baptism  of  those  who 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  209 

*'  do  not  believe;"  can  it  be  any  thing  else,  than 
that  they  '*  who  do  not  believe  "  shall  be  damned  ? 
Can  Paedobaptists'  baptism  be  a  baptism  unto 
salvation?  Certainly  not.  This  odious  and  horrid 
principle  may  be  smoothed  over,  but  there  it  is  and 
cannot  be  got  rid  of.  He  that  denies  baptism  to 
babes  because  they  have  not  faitli,  and  cannot  have 
it,  by  that  principle  and  the  second  clause  of  this 
commission  in  St.  Mark,  dooms  them  to  perdition. 
The  scripture  is  true,  and  the  principle  is  false. 

False  to  the  plan  of  redemption,  false  to  the 
mercy  of  Christ  our  blessed  Lord,  false  to  the 
feelings  of  man's  heart,  false  to  the  heart  of  the 
father  and  the  mxOther  whose  unspeaking  babes  are 
upon  their  knees  and  in  their  bosom. 

We  are  led  now  to  the  second  interpretation  of 
that  passage,  the  interpretation  which,  because  the 
first  is  so  odious,  is  now  generally  put  forward. 
The  interpretation  upon  which  they  found  their 
title,  "  believer's  baptism."  The  interpretation  is 
this — "  He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be 
saved  ;  and  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned." 
Belief  is  first  in  the  sentence,  and  therefore  must 
come  first.  We  baptize  after  belief,  and  therefore 
we  alone  have  true  scripture  baptism.  Now  let 
the  candid  reader  remark  this  first,  that  there  is  no 
passage  in  the  scripture  that  says  this  in  express 
terms  ;  the  conclusion  is  an  inference  drawn ;  if 
that  inference  be  correctly  drawn,  then  it  is  true  ; 
if  it  be  not  correctly  drawn,  it  is  untrue.  I  that 
baptize  infants,  I  deny  the  correctness  of  the  in- 


210  MERCV  TO  BABES. 

ference.  I  deny  that  in  that  sentence  there  is  any 
thing  inferring  that  behef  should  come  first. 

Now  does  that  sentence  assert  that  belief  is  a 
qualification  for  baptism,  or  what  does  it  assert? 
On  the  plain  face  of  the  sentence  it  asserts  two 
qualifications  as  requisite  to  salvation,  one  belief  elucI 
the  other  bajjtisjn.  "  He  that  belie veth  " — here  is 
one  qualification  ;  "  and  is  baptized  " — ^here  is 
another ;  "  shall  be  saved."  Will  any  man  dare 
to  say,  that  upon  any  fair  construction  of  the  lan- 
guage, upon  any  principles  of  law,  or  equit}' ,  or 
grammatical  construction,  that  of  two  qualifications 
thus  placed,  we  can  make  one  of  the  two  a  quali- 
fication for  the  other?  can  say  that  one  must  come 
before  the  other,  belief  before  baptism,  or  baptism 
before  belief? 

Now  this  is  a  book  written  for  plain  people,  and 
for  common  sense  people.  Look  at  a  sentence  of 
precisely  the  same  kind,  expressing  two  qualifica- 
tions— "  He  that  professes  his  allegiance  and  is 
naturalized  shall  vote  ; "  just  the  same  as  "  he  that 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved."  There- 
fore, by  the  same  way  of  arguing,  none  can  be 
naturalized  before  they  profess  their  allegiance  : 
therefore  infants  cannot  be  naturalized.  Again  : 
"  He  that  is  industrious  and  honest  shall  succeed 
in  business."  There  being  two  qualifications  for 
success,  therefore  by  the  argument,  a  man  must  be 
industrious  before  he  is  honest.  And  so,  through  a 
multitude  of  examples,  of  which  any  one  may 
devise  thousands.     The  error  being  this,  that  be- 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  211 

cause  two  things  are  qualifications  for  a  third,  one 
of  them  therefore  must  be  a  quahfication  for  the 
other. 

How  then  are  we  to  interpret  the  text?  Just  in 
the  same  way  that  justice  and  equity  would  require 
us  to  interpret  any  such  sentence  in  other  cases. 
The  sentence  is  of  authority,  it  prescribes  qualifica- 
tions, it  is  therefore  "law,"  and  that  law  moral  and 
spiritual.  If  the  two  qualifications  are  there,  then 
it  is  right ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  there  be  a  moral 
and  spiritual  impediment,  then  the  right  is  voided 
— if  the  impediment  be  physical,  it  does  not  void 
the  right.  He  that  through  a  physical  necessity, 
such  as  invincible  ignorance  or  impossibility  of 
being  baptized  is  prevented  from  it,  he,  if  he  be- 
lieve, and  have  therefore  the  other  qualification, 
he  claims  salvation,  and  his  claim  is  valid  by  all 
principles  of  justice  and  equity.  He  too  who  is 
baptized,  and  yet  owing  to  infancy,  idiocy,  or  any 
other  incapacity,  is  rendered  incapable  of  believing, 
he  too  is  saved  under  that  law.  And  he  that  be- 
lieveth  not,  through  moral  or  spiritual  causes,  he 
shall  be  damned.  Now  let  men  examine  this  in- 
terpretation upon  the  ground  of  justice  and  equity, 
and  they  will  see  that  it  is  the  true  and  right 
interpretation. 

Now  I  will  put  forward  another  consideration. 
Baptists  say  that  baptism  is  "  total  immersion,  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Now  I  will  suppose  a  case  of  one  so  im- 
mersed, in  infancy;  he  is  trained  up  in  the  fear  of 
the  Lord,  and  believes — what  comes  of  him?  You 


212  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

may  say,  "no  case  of  infant  immersion  has  oc- 
curred;" and  I  say,  that  the  English  Church, 
before  the  Reformation,  immersed  infants  univer- 
sally ;  I  say  the  Greek  Church  does  so  now  ;  I  say 
that  such  immersion  has  been  performed  in  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  churches  in  America,  and  autho- 
rity is  given  me,  as  a  presbyter  of  that  Church,  to 
do  it,  as  well  as  to  any  other  clergymen  of  the 
Church,  and  it  has  hee?i  done.  And  what  is  the  case 
with  such  a  person,  confessing  their  faith  and 
being  converted?  The  case  is  this — that  by  the 
law  of  Jesus  Christ  such  a  person  "  believeth," 
and  is  "baptized  ;"  taking  baptism  in  your  sense 
of  total  immersion  ;  and  by  the  false  gloss  I  have 
been  exposing,  such  a  person  is  not  baptized;  an 
absurdity  which  may  be  dwelt  upon,  and  with 
it  the  text  that  says,  ye  have  made  vain  the  law  by 
your  traditions. 

"  He  that  believeth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be 
saved."  All  we  have  from  this  text  is,  that  there 
are  two  qualifications  to  a  certain  state — the  state 
of  salvation  ;  nothing  more  can  be  got  out  of  it. 
Upon  the  face  of  it,  as  we  have  showed,  it  cannot 
be  said  that  either  is  first.  As  far  as  this  text  goes, 
there  can  be  no  inference  made.  This  we  leave  to 
the  common  sense  of  every  one. 

But  it  will  be  said,  does  not  faith  go  before 
baptism — ought  it  not  to  go  before  it?  Certainly, 
in  all  cases  except  where  there  is  a  physical  im- 
pediment. A  physical  impediment,  from  the  very 
words  of  the  commission,  as  discussed  in  the  last 
chapter,  from  the  very  fact  of  the  spirituality  of 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  213 

the  law  under  which  we  are,  does  not  invalidate 
the  right  to  baptism  ;  but  there  can  be,  as  we  have 
before  said,  found  no  text  in  the  scripture  that 
asserts  any  physical  condition  whatsoever  to  be  an 
obstacle  to  the  operation  of  the  almighty  Spirit ; 
and  therefore  is  there  no  text  in  the  scripture  that 
forbids  baptism  to  infants. 

Of  course,  with  them  that  are  not  physically 
disqualified,  faith  is  a  pre-requisite,  and  we  who 
believe  in  the  baptism  of  infants,  preach  faith  as 
absolutely  necessary  to  them  ;  but  we  cannot  go 
beyond  God's  law  and  God's  word,  we  cannot 
establish  a  rule  which  breaks  down  the  principles 
of  that  law,  and  makes  it,  not  a  spiritual,  but  a 
physical  law.  So  far  of  the  notion  which  says 
"  that  faith  must,  in  all  cases,  go  before  baptism.'* 
And  furthermore,  we  shall  add  one  remark.  Our 
Saviour  and  the  apostles  demanded  faith  as  a  pre- 
requisite of  their  miraculous  powers  ;  butm  no  case 
did  they  make  such  a  demand  where  faith  was  yhysically 
impossible — and  so  do  we.  The  energy  of  the  Holy 
'Spirit  is  not  to  be  stopped  by  physical  or  bodily 
impediments. 

But  it  will  be  said,  that  in  all  the  cases  of  bap- 
tism recorded  in  the  scripture,  faith  comes  first. 
Well,  this  is  true  in  reference  to  those  cases  in 
which  the  conversations  are  recorded,  for  in  that 
case  it  appears  that  the  persons  could  speak,  and 
were  adults.  But  it  is  recorded  that  households 
were  baptized,  and  it  is  not  said  that  there  were  no 
children  among  them  ;  nay,  the  oldest  translation 
says — "  Lydia  and  her  children  were  baptized;'' 


214  MERCY  TO  BABES. 

it  is  net  said  that  infants  ought  not  to  be  baptized  ; 
it  is  7iot  said  that  infants  were  not  haptized.  Things 
which  certainly,  if  any  of  the  apostles  were  of  the 
sentiments  of  the  modern  Baptists,  would  have 
been  most  abundantly  reiterated.  It  cannot,  there- 
fore, be  proved  that  in  all  the  cases  of  baptism 
recorded  in  the  scripture,  no  infants  were  baptized, 
or  that  a  profession  of  faith,  with  their  own  mouths, 
did  always  take  place. 

And,  as  we  have  shown,  the  faith  of  parents, 
of  sponsors,  of  the  congregation,  and  of  the  clergy- 
man, are  enough  for  the  babe. 


CONCLUSION. 

We  have  now  gone  through  the  task  as  we  had 
appointed  it  for  ourselves ;  and  the  peculiar  nature 
of  the  track  we  have  chosen  to  pursue,  has,  as  it 
may  be  seen,  precluded  us  from  the  ordinary  course 
of  argument  that  is  usually  pursued  in  this  case. 
We  have  laid,  as  it  may  be  seen,  the  main  stress 
upon  the  doctrine  of  baptism  in  general,  the  literal 
sense  of  scripture,  and  the  nature  of  man,  consid- 
ered as  a  domestic,  a  social,  and  a  religious  being; 
and  so  far  abstained  from  the  mere  task  of  confuta- 
tion, as  only  to  touch  upon  objections  incidentally. 
And,  therefore,  there  are  many  branches  of  the 
argument  left  untouched  ;  such  as  the  evidence  for 
infant  baptism  in  the  first  ages  ;  the  relation  of 
baptism  to  circumcision,  and  so  forth ;  all  which, 
knowing  them  to  be  in  our  favor,  we  have  omitted, 


MERCY  TO  BABES.  215 

for  the  reason,  that  feeling  the  moral  and  religious 
to  be  a  most  important,  and  hitherto  but  little 
touched  part  of  the  argument  for  the  baptism  of 
infants,  we  have  chosen  to  confine  ourselves  to 
this,  that  it  might  come  with  its  full  force  upon 
men's  minds,  and  then  that  afterwards,  if  they  feel 
its  weight,  they  may,  as  a  separate  thing,  consider 
and  examine  these  other  parts  by  themselves.  In 
which  investigation  many  excellent  treatises  there 
are  that  will  aid  the  searcher  after  truth  ;  and  we 
deny  not  that  this  we  have  excluded  here,  in  order 
that  men  may  not  be  turned  awa}^  from  the  moral, 
and  domestic,  and  social  considerations  upon  bap- 
tism, to  the  logical  and  the  controversial. 

And  for  the  same  reason  we  have  altogether 
omitted  the  question  of  "  Immersion,"  one  whigh 
is  mixed  up  in  a  very  strange  way  with  that  of  the 
right  of  infants  to  baptism,  in  almost  all  the  books 
we  have  seen,  and  yet  is  a  totally  distinct  question. 
A  question  which  is,  to  the  writer  of  these  pages, 
a  very  unimportant  one  indeed,  as  the  law  of  the 
Church  gives  him  the  right  to  baptize  by  immersion 
infants  or  adults  ;  and  which,  when  the  grand  ques- 
tion, the  one  he  has  treated  of,  is  felt  as  it  should 
be,  will  be  easily  agreed  upon. 

For  this  book,  therefore,  he  has  to  seek  the 
indulgence  of  the  reader.  He  is  in  a  remote  part 
of  the  country,  far  from  libraries,  and  the  advant- 
ages of  literary  advice,  and  encouragement  which 
would  have  enabled  him  to  realize  his  plan  more 
perfectly  ;  engaged,  too,  in  labors  that  occupy  his 
mind  incessantly,  and  without  that  leisure  which 


216  MSHCiT  TO  BABES. 

is  absolutely  necessary  to  him  that  would  bring  any 
thing  to  perfection.  And  he  feels  that  the  plan  he 
has  adopted  in  this  treatise  is  one  which  would  re- 
quire, both  time,  and  leisure,  and  books,  adequately 
to  bring  it  forth  in  its  due  proportions. 

Still,  for  all  these  disadvantages,  he  believes 
that  as  it  is,  with  all  its  imperfections  upon  its 
head,  it  will  be  of  service  to  the  cause  of  religion 
and  of  the  Church.  He  believes  that,  written 
plainly  and  earnestly,  and  for  the  mass,  it  will  be 
of  service  to  ordinary  readers,  and,  perhaps,  even 
to  the  more  educated  suggest  some  thoughts  that 
may  be  of  service  to  them.  And  therefore  he  per- 
mits it  to  go  out  to  the  world,  trusting  that,  although 
written  under  many  disadvantages  and  laden  with 
many  imperfections,  still  it  may  be  of  service  to 
many  persons,  v/ho  are  sincere  and  earnest  in  their 
search  after  truth. 


THE  END. 


OLD    CHURCH     BOOKSTORE 


BOOKS 


PUBLISHED  BY 


STANFORD  AND  SWOUDS,. 


4 


139,    BROADWAl? 

NEW-YORK. 


Valuable  Woi'ks  published  by  Stanford  S^  Swords. 
BROWNELUS  FAMILY  PRAYER  BOOK. 

THE  FAMILY  PRAYER  BOOK,  or  the  Book  of  Cojn* 
TJion  Prayer,  ajid  Administration  of  the  Sacraments,  and  other 
Rites  and  Cercjuonies  of  the  Church,  according  to  the  use  of 
the  Protestant    Episcopal   Church  in  the    United  States  oj 
America;  accompanied  hy 

A    GENERAL    COMMENTARY, 

Historical,  Explanatory,  Doctrinal,  and  Practical ;  compiled, 
from  the  viost  ajrprorcd  Liturgical  Works,  uitJi  Alterations 
and  Additions,  and  Accommodated  to  the  Liturgy  of  the  Pro- 
testant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America. 
Second  Edition,  revised. 

BY  THOMAS  CHURCH  BROWNELL,  D.  D.  LL.  D. 

Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  State  of  Connecticut. 

One  thick  volume,  royal  Svo.     $3,50. 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Philadelphia,  Dec,  ^9th,  1821. 
Rt.  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — I  havp  just  now  received  your  letter  of  the  26tli  irist.  informing 
me  that  you  coiitem|)lHto  the  preparing  and  the  publishing  of  a  hook  of  Common  Prayer, 
with  a  Commentary  on  the  different  services,  accommodated  to  the  alterations  of  the 
English  Liturgj'  hy  our  American  Church.  The  la.-t  circum.'tance  is  especially  desirable, 
there  being  as  yet  nothing  of  the  kind.  And  your  connecting  the  Commentary  with  the 
text,  will  very  much  further  the  purpose  of  introducing  the  former  into  families,  and  of 
promoting  a  more  general  information  of  the  grouuds  of  our  institutions.  Wishing  you 
success  in  your  undertaking,  I  remain 

Your  affectionate  Pro<her, 

WM  WHITE. 
Rt.  Rbv.  Thos  C.  Browneli.. 

I  do  cordially  concur  in  the  foregoing  sentiments  of  the  Prcidin?  Bishop. 

JOHN  HENRY  HOBART. 

Bkistol,  Jan.  4,  182tJ. 

Though  we  have  several  Commentaries,  on  our  Prayer  Book,  and  explanations  of  the 
Liturgy,  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  no  one  of  them  is  exactly  what  is  wanted  in 
families,  und  lor  common  use.  A  work  of  this  kind,  so  judiciously  compiled  as  to  comprise 
what  is  most  essential  and  interesting  in  the  lijstory  and  exposition  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  with  the  addition  of  a  much  larger  proportion  than  wc  usually  have  of  practical 
remarks,  calculated  to  promote  the  rif-ht  use  of  it,  would  be  a  valuable  acquisition  to  on 
theological  libraries  ;  and  I  rejoice  tt)  learn  that  you  think  of  devoting  some  part  of  yoi| 
time  to  such  a  work. 

I  am,  respectfully,  j'our  Friend  and  Brofher, 

ALEX.  V.  GR  IS  WOLD. 

Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Bkownell. 

From  the  Rev.  Bevjamin  I.  Haight,  Rector  of  All  Saints'  Church,  New  York. 

It  seems  to  me  almost  superfluous  to  add  one  word  in  commendation  of  a  volume 
compiled  and  edited  by  such  a  man  as  Bshop  Brownell,  from  tiie  works  of  the  most 
approved  divines  and  liturgical  writers  of  the  Anglicau  and  American  Churches — ns  Shep- 
herd, and  Nioholls,  and  Sparrow,  and  Bis-e,  and  Comber,  and  Wlieatley,  and  Hole,  and 
Seeker,  and  Home,  and  Stanhope,  and  White,  and  Di-hon,  and  Hobart,  and  many  others 
of  no  less  note  and  excellence.  A  better  book  for  the  families  of  Churchmen  it  would  mm 
be  easy  to  find.  ->  W  ^  r-V 


Valuahte  WorTcs  •published  by  Stanford  <S^  Swords. 
BISHOP    HORNETS  WORKS,  COMPLETE. 

THE  WORKS  OF  THE 

RIGHT  REV.  GEORGE   HORNE,  D.D 

LATE  LORD    BISHOP    OF   NORWICH. 

TO  WHICH    ARE    PREFIXED, 

iltemoirs  of  Ijis  Cife,  Qtubies,  axx^s  fcOritings, 

BY  WILLIAM  JONES,  M.  A.,  F.  R.  S.,  &c. 

ONE  OF  HIS  lordship's  CHAPLAINS,  AND  LONG  HIS  MOST  INTIMATK  FBIENIX 

In  Two  volumes.     Royal  8vo.     $4  00. 

••  Of  the  distingruished  Doctors  of  the  Ansriican  Communion,  there  is  no  one  wbos« 
works  may,  with  more  propriety,  claim  admission  into  every  library,  than  Bishop  Hone. 
Thoroughly  sound  in  doctrine  and  principle,  his  s^tyle  is  marlied  by  great  simplicity  and 
beauty  ;  wliile  on  every  paae  you  behold  the  impress  of  deep  spirituality  and  devotion. 
The  most  erudite  theoloiiiau  may  make  him  his  companion  :  the  simple  rustic  can  enjoy 
and  profit  by  his  teachinir.  The  present  edition  has  the  merit  of  great  compactness  and 
cheapness,  and  will  supplant,  we  trust,  much  of  the  trash  which  has,  of  laie  years,  found 
its  way  into  our  houses,  under  the  ^'uise  of  valuable  relieinus  works:  beinir  often  the  ef- 
fusions of  minds,  either  wholly  adverse  to  the  leachingof  Holy  Scripture,  as  witnes-ed  by 
the  Churcl);  or  ignorant  thereof.  We  hope  that  Ciiurchman  will  one  day  learn  that 
every  ^lOMS  book,  is  not  therefore  fit  to  be  purchased  and  taken  into  their  families  ;  but 
only  such  as  are  in  conformity  with  thedociriuRs  and  principle:)  of  tne  Reformed  Catholic 
Church.  For  private  and  family  devotional  rcadiiisr,  Bishop  Home's  CommHiitar}'  on  the 
Psalms,  contained  in  the  first  volume  of  this  edition,  is  inferior  lo  no  uninspired  work 
extant. — Churchman. 

««  It  would  be  hard  to  name  a  more  acceptahie  or  useful  addition  to  the  stock  of  Aineri 
can  reprints  of  standard  divinity,  t!ian  these  bulky  volumes  con-titute.  There  is  a  pecu 
liar  charm  about  every  th.n^  from  the  pen  of  Bishop  Home,  the  learned,  the  devout,  the 
orthodox,  tlie  practical,  the  polished,  the  witty.  Nor  is  that  charm  absent  from  the  kind- 
hearted,  honest,  yet  devoted  biography,  with  which  William  Jones,  one  of  the  truest  and 
best  of  the  many  worthiss  of  the  Ciiurch  in  Eiitiland,  has  immortalized  the  friendship, 
more  like  that  of  David  and  Jonathan  thin  most  others  upon  record,  that  held  its  life-long 
COur.«e  between  himself  and  the  ffood  bishop. 

"  Our  lan^ua,'e  does  not  furnish  another  commentary  equal  to  that  of  Bishop  Home 
upon  the  Psalm>,  or  sermons  superior  to  many  of  the  fourscore  pulilished  in  the  second  of 
these  volumes.  Nor  does  it,  as  we  believe,  contain  a  body  of  theological  writin>js  so  per 
fectly  sound  and  free  from  any,  even  the  least  matter  for  just  exception.  We  do  not 
know  a  line  of  Bishop  Home's  that  we  would  rat'ier  hive  erased.  H'i  think*  and  writes 
every  where  with  the  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  the  earnest  orthodoxy  and  honest 
zeal,  the  infantine  good  humor  and  angel-like  devotiim  of  a  father  of  the  apostolic  age, 
The  principles  which  othnrs  get  an?ry  in  contending  for,  he  soothes  and  wins  his  rcade. 
by  exemplifying.  The  much  abused  epithets,  evangelical  and  catholic,  belong  to  his 
■writings  in  their  highest  and  fullest  sense.  Would  that  we  had  many  more  Mich  theolo- 
gians! '  The  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace  '  would  be  better  realized  among 
us,  in  proportion  as  they  found  currency  and  superseded  the  ephemeral  swarms  of  dog- 
•latizers,  ranters,  canters  and  contentious  innovators  whose  lucubrations  fill  our  book* 
•he'ves  and  '  disturb  our  peace.' 

•'  These  volumes  strike  us  as  peculiarly  suitable  for  one  good  use,  of  which  there  is  no 
little  need  in  many  quarters — presentation  by  a  lay  member  of  the  Church  to  a  beloved 
pastor,  in  token  of  rejard.  A  more  suitable  pledge  of  Christian  love,  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find.  It  would  well  consort  with  the  kind  of  books  that  ought  to  fill  the  scanty  bookp 
CAses  of  our  ill-provided  clergy." — Calendar. 


Valuable  "[Vorlzs,  puh/ished  hy  Stanford  S^  Swords. 
MELVILUS  SERMONS,  COMPLETE. 


SERMONS  BY  HENRY  MELVILL, 

COMPRISING  ALL  THE  DISCOURSES  PUBLISHED  BY  CONSENT  OF  THK 
AUTHOR. 

EDITED  BY  THE 

RT.  REV.  CHARLES  P.  M'lLVAINE,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  THE  PHOT.  EPIS.  CHUKCH  IN  THE  DIOCESE  OF    OHIO. 

Two  large  octavo  volumes.     $4,00. 

"  Tfte  discourses  of  Alelvill  have  so  loti?  been  before  the  religious  public,  that  nothing 
new  can  be  added  by  way  of  recommoudin^'  their  peculiar  merits.  This  is  the  fullest  and 
most  i.orrect  edition  that  has  come  in  our  way  ;  and  especially  is  it  valuable  as  an  aulhen 
tic  one,  many  imperfect  reports  of  the  sermons  havinjr  appeared  in  otlier  compilations, 
and  of  course  marked  with  the  stenographer's  inaccuracies. — Literary  Wvrld. 

"  Melvill  has  for  some  years  been  with  the  reading  public  a  decided  favorite.  We  sup- 
po.se  the  sermons  of  no  living  man  will  command  a  more  extensive  sale.  AH  who  read 
him  are  charmed  with  his  beauty,  tenderness,  earnestness,  eloquence  and  nice  discrimina- 
tion in  exposition.  He  is  at  times  speculative  to  a  fault,  and  will  be  thought  by  some, 
occasionally,  to  be  not  strictly  orthodox  ;  yet  tiiere  is  so  much  to  delight  in  his  practical 
and  forcible  exhortations  to  duty,  his  warm  and  heartfelt  adherence  to  the  Cross,  his  ad- 
mirably rounded  and  finely-wrought  periods,  that,  unlike  sermons  generally,  which  are 
considered  rather  a  dull  commodity  for  merchandize,  those  who  love  good  reading  will 
buy,  and  wUlread  Melvill's  Sermons.  No  man  can  read  them,  and  wot  feel  their  power, 
stirring  the  depths  of  spirit.  If  he  have  soul  in  him,  the  preacher  will  not  fail  to  find  it. 
and  by  the  mastery  of  eloquence,  charm  it  to  solemnity  and  awe  it  to  reflection.  Perhaps 
there  are  no  written  sermons  in  our  languajre,  which  are  better  calculated  to  produce 
impression  upon  those  who  peruse  them." — Methodist  Protestant. 

"  Melvill  is  no  ordinary  man,  and  produces  no  ordinary  influence.  Possessing  a  brilliant 
imagination,  having  great  command  of  words,  and  being  full  of  the  fire  of  genius,  he  sways 
the  hearts  of  crowded  conirrt^gations  who  listen  to  the  living  voice,  and  of  multitudes  who 
peruse  the  productions  of  his  glowing  pen.  It  is  impossible  to  read  Melvill's  Sermons 
and  not  be  gratified,  and  what  is  better,  improved.  There  is  so  much  of  the  earnestness 
and  aflTectionateness  of  the  '-man  of  God,"  so  much  zeal  for  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  so 
great  acuteness  and  so  happy  a  faculty  of  illustrating  and  enforcing  Scriptural  truth,  that 
involuntarily  one  pays  the  highest  tribute  which  an  author  can  receive,  in  forgetting  hira 
and  fastening  the  mind  upon  the  ennobling  subjects  of  his  labors.  The  present  edition  is 
especially  valuable,  since  here  we  have  the  discourses  of  the  gifted  author  as  h'.?  wrote 
them  and  committed  them  to  the  press,  and  the  publishers  have  taken  pains  to  include  in 
the  present  issue,  both  the  parochial  sermons,  and  those  delivered  on  public  occasions  and 
before  the  University  of  Cambridge  ;  by  which  we  have  here  the  contents  of  some  five  or 
six  volumes  of  the  English  edition,  at  a  price  which  brings  them  within  the  reach  of  all. 
The  mechanical  execution  is  in  the  publishers'  usual  style  of  excellence." — Young  Church- 
man's Miscellany. 

"  We  have  read  many  of  these  sermons  with  interest,  pleasure,  and  profit ;  the  more  so, 
because  we  believe  them  to  be  the  most  perfect  edition  of  Melvill's  sermons  extant.  Their 
sditor,  the  distinguished  Bishop  of  Ohio,  has  presented  them  in  their  true  light  before  the 
public.  Melvill  possesses  a  mind  of  peculiar  richness  and  vigor,  clothed  upon  with  all  the 
glorious  f  ruths  of  our  holy  religion.  He  delineates  most  beautifully  the  law  of  the  spirit 
of  life,  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  and  is  always  most  eloquent  when  nearest  to  the  Cross.  His  styl«, 
peculiarly  his  own,  cannot  be  commendeu  to  any  divine:  for  apart  from  its  many  objec- 
tionable features,  it  could  not  be  successfully  imitated  :  but  the  expository  character  of  his 
sermons  is  of  the  first  order;  and  here  Melvill  may  be  .«tudied  with  the  greatest  advantage. 
His  sermons  are  from  his  text,  made  up  of  its  elements,  not  introducing  his  subject,  but 
suggesting  and  containing  it.  Therefore  they  are  always  a  faithful  exposition  of  the  text. 
The  present  edition  of  his  ser-cons  cannot  fail  to  have  a  w^de  and  justly  deserved  circula 
ti<Mi. — Albany  Spectator 


Valuable   Works,  published  by  Stanford  Sf  Swords. 
SHORT^S  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

IIJSTOllY  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLMD, 

TO  THE  REVOLUTION  OF  ENGLAND  OF  1G83 

BY    THE 

RT.  REV.  THOMAS  VOWLER  SHORT,  D.  D., 

BISHOP    OF    ST.    ASAPH. 

One   Volume.  Svo.  $1,50. 

"We  feel  grateful  for  the  reprirt  of  this  learned,  impartial,  and  valuable  work.  The 
publishers  of  such  books  deserve  to  be  liberal!}- sustained  and  encouraged  by  the  Chris- 
tian public,  aud  especially  by  Churchmen.  Bisb.jp  Siiort's  History  will  lead  its  readers 
t3  a  greater  knowledjre  aud  love  of  the  English  Churcli,  and  must  convince  them  that  in 
her  doctrtnes,  ritual,  and  government,  she  is  f  lithfully  formed  on  the  niodsl  of  that  which 
was  primitive  aud  apostolic.  It  is  the  fruit  of  many  years'  reading  and  immense  labor  and 
research;  aud,  though  its  professed  object  is  'to  facilitate  the  studies  of  j'ou.ng  men  who 
are  preparing  themselves  for  the  offices  of  the  Church,'  there  is  no  cLits  of  readers  who  will 
not  find  it  a  pleasure  aud  a  profit.  It  may  be  objected  to  by  some  that  the  meek  and  pious 
author  is  occasionally  too  lenient  in  his  notice  of  dissenters;  but  he  never  conceals  the  truth, 
(evidently  his  sole  pursuit ;)  and  the  very  tenderness  he  sliows  to  opponents  may  extend 
the  usefulness  of  the  work,  by  attracting  and  conciliating  readers  among  them,  and,  we 
may  hope,  convincing  them  that,  in  the  language  of  the  author, '  the  best  reformation  of  the 
Church  of  England  would  be  to  reduce  her  in  practice  to  what  she  is  in  theory;  that  h*r 
doctrines  are  such,  that  he  who  ventures  his  eternal  safety  to  her  guidance  is  taking  a  sr> 
cure  path;  and  that  the  framework  of  her  establishment  is  that  which,  under  God's  provi- 
dence, is  best  suited,  in  the  present  state  of  the  Christian  world,  to  preserve  and  diasemiuate 
our  holy  faith  among  the  various  branches  of  society.'" — Banner  of  the  Cross. 

"  This  is  a  very  valuable  production.  It  has  passed  through  three  English  editions  ;  aa<i 
now  appears  for  the  first  time  in  an  American  dress.  Its  issue  at  this  juncture  is  exceed- 
ingly well  timed." — Episcopal  Recorder. 

"  The  fact  that  this  work  embraces  the  history  of  the  English  Church  from  the  earliest 
period  of  English  history  down  to  the  glorious  Revoluti(jn  of  1688,  is  all  that  need  be  urged 
in  favor  of  of  its  importance.  The  style  is  easy  and  chaste  ;  and  the  arrangement  of  nnm- 
erical  sections  enables  the  reader,  by  looking  over  the  contents  of  a  chapter,  to  find  at 
once  the  subject  of  his  inquiry.  As  a  book  ot  reference,  its  value  is  much  increased  by 
chnmological  tables  aud  a  copious  index.  The  spirit  ot  the  author  is  liberal  and  Christian. 
It  is  printed  in  double  columns  ;  and  the  paper,  type,  &c.,  are  in  the  best  style  of  the  pub 
Ushers." — Baltimore  American. 

"  This  is  the  book  as  interesting  to  the  general  reader  as  to  one  specially  interested  in 
the  remarkable  historv  it  developes  and  extends.  It  is  written,  as  far  as  we  can  judge  from 
a  hasty  glance  at  it,  in  a  liberal,  compreliensive,  and  Christian  spirit,  not  sparing  the  de 
facts  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  not  failing  to  give  credit  to  other  sects  where  the 
writer  has  thought  it  was  due  to  them.  The  typography  and  general  appearance  of  the 
book  are  creditable  to  the  taste  of  the  enterprising  publishers." — Pkiladelphia  Gazette. 

"  This  is  a  valuable  contribution  t >  ecclesiastical  history,  and  will  be  found  an  important 
additioc  to  the  library  of  the  religioLs  student." — Pennsylvanian. 

"  We  welcome  this  elaborate  aud  valuable  work  as  a  most  important  addition  to  the 
series  of  Protestant  publications  from  the  press  of  Messrs  Stanford  aud  S^words.  This 
edition  is  a  large  octavo  of  351)  pagi",  very  well  printed.  It  is  enriched  with  numerous 
notes,  several  chronological  and  genealogical  tables,  and  a  copious  index.  The  fact  of  the 
work  having  reached  a  third  edition  in  England,  is  evidence  of  its  originality  and  useful- 
uess." — North  American. 

"The  high  reputation  of  its  author  as  a  scholar  and  a  writer  is  amply  sustained  in  its 
jMiges,  which  treat  of  some  of  the  most  intensely  interesting  periods  in  the  history  of  our 
aHbor  c.-^Mitry.    The  rufarmatior  of  the  Church  ;  the  great  revolution  ;  the  aesiructioa 


Valuable  IVark^,  pahlis/ied  oy  Stanford  Sf  Swords. 

of  tho  old  Church  with  .he  monarchy  ;  its  re-establishmpnt  on  the  Presbyterian  basis;  the 
recall  of  the  Stuarts,  and  with  them  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  overthrow  of  the 
Presbyterian  supremacy;  the  formation  of  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles  of  the  Cliurch  oi 
Eiidand  ;  these,  with  other  matters  of  kindred  interest,  afford  a  rich  theme,  which,  in  the 
volume  before  us,  is  eloquently  descanted  upon.  All  who  feel  an  interest  in  tliese  mattera 
would  do  well  to  possess  themselves  of  a  copy  of  the  work.  The  beautiful  style  in  which 
♦his  work  is  issued,  is  highly  creditable  to  the  publishers." — Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

•^  This  is  a  volume  which  nas  already  received  authoritative  approval  in  this  country, 
bein^  a  class  Look  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Seminary  at  Alexandria,  D.  C,  and  perhapi 
in  other  institutions.  It  is  a  large  octavo,  written  in  a  clear  and  comprehensive  style,  and 
ihus  embraces  avast  amount  of  ecclesiastical  knowledge,  while  it  has,  in  many  places,  an  elo- 
quence of  diction,  and  in  all  a  nervous  directness,  which  make  it  an  interesting  as  well  aa 
%  useful  volume.  The  low  prici;  of  t!iis  !)Ook  is  such  as  will  place  it  within  the  reach  of 
all  purciiasers;  and  the  members  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  communion  will  no  doubt  re 
ward  the  enterprise  of  the  publishers,  and  gratify  themselves,  by  giving  the  volume  a  wide 
circulation.  It  has  already  passed  through  three  editions  in  England,  and  must  be  allowed 
the  high  praise  of  being  the  most  compreheusivc  work  on  the  subject  now  before  the  pub- 
lic."—  Saturday  Post. 

"  There  is  a  degree  of  candor  and  impartiality  in  this  work  which,  for  a  Churchman,  is  as 
unusual  as  it  is  commendable.  The  author  has  a  justifinble  partiality  for  his  own  Church 
ind  the  tory  party  of  which  it  has  been  a  j)romineiit  section  in  all  periods  of  Eusrlish  his- 
tory ;  but  this  preference  is  not  allowed  to  interfere  with  a  candid  and  honest  statement  of 
facts,  whether  lhe>  bear  against  the  interest  and  character  of  his  friends,  or  are  favorable 
to  that  of  his  oppo.  ents.  With  a  just  admiration  of  excellence,  wherever  found,  and  a 
love  of  freedom  ano  oopular  rights,  he  looks  upon  the  whole  field  of  history  with  the  impar- 
tial comprehensiven  ssof  an  historian,  rather  than  with  the  j'-alous  zeal  of  a  partisan,  or 
the  exclusiveness  of .  sectary.  He  eulogizes  the  Reformation  ;  does  something  like  jus- 
tice to  the  character  of  the  Puritans,  of  Cromwell,  and  the  Presbyterians:  admits  the 
tyranny  of  Laud,  the  weakivess  and  selfishness  of  Charles,  and  the  violence  and  irreligioB 
uf  the  Royalists  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution. 

"  There  is  much,  of  course,  of  which  non-Episf-opalians  cannot  approve.  No  Church- 
».ian  can  be  expected  to  look  at  some  periods  of  English  history  witli  a  clear  and  unpreju- 
diced mind.  The  light  which  the  Revolution  sheds  upon  the  genius  and  character  of 
Episcopacy  is  too  glaring  to  be  quietly  looked  at.  So,  if  we  read  the  histories  prepared 
by  Churchmen,  it  mu»t  ahvays  be  with  much  indulgence  to  the  weakness  of  human  nature 
and  pity  for  the  prejudice  which  can  slander  some  of  England's  best  men,  and  stisrmati2e 
as  opp  ession  and  tyranny  the  purest  and  freest  government  she  has  ever  had.  The  work 
IS  written  in  a  condensed,  yet  attractive  style,  with  great  precision  and  accuracy.  As  a 
text  book,  or  for  general  perusal,  it  will  be  found  interesting  and  valuable.  It  is,  wc  ai" 
happy  to  add,  rery  neatly  printed,  and  sold  at  u  low  price." — N.  Y.  Evangelist. 

"  An  octavo  volume  of  3.53  pages,  accompanied  by  a  chronological  and  genealogical  table 
and  very  full  index.  It  is  a  wo.-k  of  real  merit,  written  by  one  stronily  attached,  of  course, 
to  the  Church  of  which  he  is  a  member,  but  apparently  no  bigot.  We  will  not  pretend  to 
vouch  for  all  his  opinions;  but  such  perusal  as  we  have  been  able  to  give  to  his  writinsrs, 
convinces  us  that  he  is  sincere  in  them,  and  that  he  is  honest  in  the  statement  of  facts.  His 
references  are  numerous.  The  religious  sentiments  which  he  expresses  in  the  progress  of 
the  work  are  evangelical  in  their  character  ;  and  the  views  which  he  entertains  of  Chris- 
tians of  other  persuasions  evince  a  charitable  spirit.  He  sees  and  candidly  acknowledges 
lefects  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  disadvantages  of  a  grievous  nature  resulting  frons 
Ihe  connection  of  Church  and  state  :  but  on  the  whole,  he  prefers  his  communion  to  oth- 
ers, and  exhorts  his  brethren  to  seek  its  improvement.  We  shall  place  the  book  umoii| 
our  most  important  histories." — Baptist  Advocate. 

"The  style  in  which  this  history  is  written  is  elegant  and  chaste;  and,  from  tha 
examination  which  we  have  made  of  the  portions  of  the  work  in  which  the  predilections 
of  the  author  would  be  most  likely  to  appear,  we  believe  his  statements  to  be  made  in  all 
candor,  and  with  an  honest  desire  to  be  impartial  and  truthful.  As  a  history  of  the  Church 
of  England,  it  possesses  decided  advantages  over  every  other  work  which  we  have  seen  o» 
beard  of;  and  whilst  it  will  be  regarded  by  all  Protestant  denominations  as  a  most  valuabk 
contribution  to  general  ecclesiastical  history,  it  commends  itself  especially  to  the  miuisteiV 
and  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  we  have  no  doubt  will  be  duly  appreciated 
U  is  a  work  of  vast  labor,  learning,  and  research." — Protestant  Banner. 


Valuable  Worhs,  puhlished  hy  Stanford  (^  Swords. 


SPENCER^S    ENGLISH    REFORMATION 
HISTORY  OF  THE  RSFORmATION  m  ENGLAND 

By    THE 

REV.  J.  A.  SPENCER,  A.  M. 

"author   of  the   christian   IXSTKUCTED    IX   THE   WAYS    OF   THE    GOSPEL   AND   TH^ 
CHUUCH." 

One  Volujne.     IQtmo.     50c. 

"The  autlior  'claims  to  have  carefully  sou^rht  exactness  and  precision  in  regard  to  fact* 
and  circumstances;  to  have  consulted  every  writer  within  hi.-s  reiiL-ii,  in  or.ler  to  verify  the 
utatemeni  made  in  t.'ie  text:  to  have  endeavored  to  he  strictly  ju.-t  and  fair  towards  all 
parties  and  persons;  and  to  have  set  fo.th  tiie  jjuhlic  acts  oi'  tiie  Gliurch  and  State  aa 
faithfully  as  lie  was  able,  and  as  fully  as  t!ie  limits  of  the  volume  wu.ild  adiuil.'  \V« 
regard  it  as  of  especial  imporiaucs  at  this  tim<^.  that  the  causes  which  ted  to  tlie  reforma 
tion  of  the  Church  in  Eu:;laud,  should  be  well  underslood.  Tiiern  are  jnany  pertoas  to 
whom  the  larger  histoi-ios  of  it  arc  not  accessible,  and  who  would  not  havi;  time  to  study 
them  if  they  were.  To  such,  und  to  the  youiij-  learner,  this  little  book  of  '2UU  pa<res  will 
impart  much  useful  information  upon  that  interestinij  era  iu  the  history  of  the  Church." 
— Banner  of  the  Cross. 

"  A  judicious  and  faithful  treatise  on  the  Reformation  in  Ensrland,  admirably  adapted 
for  families  and  for  Sunday  ^'chool  libraries.  Although  aitceihcr  unprf^tending',  it  i( 
precisely  one  of  the  books  most  fitted  to  do  good,  in  the  times  upon  w  hich  we  have  fallen. 
It  tells  the  truth,  clearly,  fairly,  and  honestly.  *  *  *  When  such  desperate  and  un- 
ceasing efforts  are  made  all  around  us  to  viilify  the  Reformation,  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
Churchman  not  only  to  inform  himself  on  the  subject,  bnt  lo  see  that  the  trutii  is  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  minds  of  his  children,  who  may  soon  be  called  to  a  fiercer  and  more 
enrnest  strug;,'le  to  maiataiu  it  than  atiy  to  •.vhich  he  kirnself  is  summoned. — Protestant 
Chvrchman. 

"  An  acceptable  contribution  to  ecelcsiastical  literature.  The  author  throws  into  con- 
trast the  leading  principles  of  Protes'.aiitisra  with  the  past  and  existiiisr  elements  of 
Romanism,  and  exhibits  their  opposite  tendencies  with  much  force.  The  historical  por 
tioa  of  the  work  is,  from  tiie  size  of  the  volume,  necessarily  much  condensed.  The  promi 
nence  given  to  the  great  principles  involved,  however,  aloiies  for  this,  while  as  a  portable 
and  not  expensive  volume,  it  will  reach  those  to  whom  larger  works  of  the  kind  are 
iaaccessible." — N.  Y.  Coir>mercial  Adcertiser. 

"  This  is  a  most  opportune  publication.  The  times  demand  a  return  to  the  principleii 
of  the  great  Reform,  and  the  people  are  laudably  anxious  to  know  what  those  princi- 
ples are.  So  much  discussion  is  abroad,  so  many  various  assertions  are  made,  and  so 
much  confidence  is  manifested  by  persons  of  very  different  sentiments  iu  the  truth  of 
their  opiuious,  that  it  is  essential  to  go  to  t!ie  fountain  head  and  ascertain  by  the  facta  of 
history  iwst  where  and  what  the  truth  really  is.  It  is  this  object  which  the  ajthor  of  this 
volume  has  had  in  viev/  ;  it  has  beer,  his  aim  to  present  facts,  and  not  mere  opinions,  to 
give  evidence,  and  not  barely  his  view  of  the  Reformation  and  its  principles.  It  is  thia 
feature  which  we  particularly  admire  in  this  volume,  and  which  we  commend  especially 
to  our  readers  ;  for  thouirh  Mr.  Spencer's  own  views  are  decided,  he  dees  not  obtrudo 
tbom  upon  those  who  peruse  his  history;  he  gives  them  a  succinct,  clear,  well-digested 
statement  of  the  acts  of  the  Church  and  State,  and  leaves  the  reader  to  draw  his  o>vn 
conclusion.  We  are  not  aware  that  in  a  single  instance  Mr.  S.  oversteps  the  true  bounds 
by  which  the  historian  ought  to  be  restrained. 

"The  literary  and  mechanical  e.tecntion  of  this  volume  are  of  the  first  order,  31-  S. 
writes  easily,  fluently  and  vigorously,  and  occasionally  his  subject  warms  into  eloquence. 
The  publishers  deserve  great  credit  for  the  style  in  which  tliej'  have  issued  the  book,  not 
more  than  for  the  very  low  price  at  which  they  offer  it  for  sale,  in  order,  we  are  confident, 
to  give  it  that  wide  circulati  m  which  tiie  momentous  nature  of  the  subje«.'t  lemauds."  — 
Pf.  ¥  Gazette  if  Times. 


Valuable  Worhs,  fublislieA  hy  Stanford  ^  Swords. 

PALMER^S    CHURCH    HISTORY. 

A  COMPENDIOUS  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY, 

FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 

BY  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  PALMER,  M.  A., 

AUTHOK  OF  "ORIGINKS  LITURGIC^,"'  &C. 

WITH  PREFACE  AND  NOTES  BY    AN  AMERICAN   EDITOR. 

In  one  volume.     V2mo.     50c. 

"  The  truly  learned  and  sound-minded  author  has  set  himself  honestly  to  seek  out  the 
results  of  tlie  system  devised  by  Heaveidy  Wisdom,  and  set  in  operation  l)y  God  liimself, 
wliBu  He  dwelt  anion^  us.  He  does  not  puzzle  himself  and  his  reader  with  an  attempt  at 
a  '  pragmatical '  investigation  of  the  human  motives  and  propensities  that  have  carried  on, 
»hile  they  seemed  to  thwart  and  vitiate,  the  divine  rounsels  for  man's  salvation.  S*:ll 
Jess  does  he  stocp  to  flatter  the  poor  pride  of  human  reason  by  lowering  a  narrative  of 
God's  doings  with  and  in  his  Church  lo  the  tone  of  secular  history,  and  making  all  plaiH 
aud  easy  for  the  most  uuspiritual  compreheusion.  He  writes  as  a  believer  of  the  facts  that 
he  narrates  ;  but  not  a  believer  witiiout  investigation.  He  writes  as  one  whose  own  be- 
lief makes  him  in  earnest  with  liis  reader,  and  in  consequence  leaves  the  impression  of 
reality  on  the  mind.  Convinced  that  God  did  indeed  found  his  Church  upon  a  rock, 
immoveable  and  unconquerable,  he  looks  for  it,  without  fear  or  shrinking,  amid  the  worst 
of  tempests  of  controversial  strife  or  secular  oppression,  and  unde--  the  deepest  mists 
of  j^Miorance  and  error,  and  not  only  finds  it,  signalized  by  its  unvarying  tokens  of  peace, 
holiness  aud  joy,  but  makes  it  obvious  to  others.  We  see,  with  him,  that  tiiough  times  hav« 
changed,  and  manners  varied,  the  word  and  promise  of  God  have  endured  unchanged,  aud 
their  accomplisluneul  has  goce  on  invariably." — Bishop  Whiitiiigham. 


RECORDS  OF  A  GOOD    MAN'S  LIFE, 

BY  THE 

REV.  CHARLES  B.  TAYLER,  M.  A. 
One  handsome  volume.     12mo.    75c. 

"  This  is,  indeed,  a  '  golden  book  ' — one  that  cannot  be  read  without  as  mucfj  profit  a* 
pleasure  by  all  who  feel  interest  in  the  life  of  a  good  country  parson.  The  narrative  ex 
hi  bits  the  character  of  a  man  wiio  was  distinguished,  not  for  talent  or  learning,  but  for 
b'jiug  in  earnest,  and  heartily  endeavoring  to  live  up  to  his  Cliristian  profession — wilk 
»  honi  baptism  was  not  a  form,  but  the  commencemeut  of  a  lifti  of  Christian  faith."— 
f-  aitner  tsf  the  Cross. 

"  An  elegant  reprint  of  a  volume  endeared  to  many  a  heart  by  a  thousand  charms  of 
siyle,  sentiment,  and  pious  meditation.  The  loveliness  of  humanity  passing  through  the 
sitxges  of  life  under  the  iiifluence,  and  illuminated  by  the  divine  light  of  the  pure  precepts 
of  the  Gospel,  the  surpassing  beauty  of  holiness  exhibited  in  the  character  of  woman  as  a 
Christian  wife  and  mother,  and  the  manly  dignity  and  nobleness  of  the  Christian  father 
and  husband,  are  all  here  exhibited  so  sweetly,  so  truthfully,  so  eloquently,  as  to  touch 
the  soul  of  the  most  obdurate.  We  trust  all  our  readers  are  so  familiar  with  these  pages 
as  to  feel  the  justice  of  our  praise,  aud  to  seize  eagerly  the  opportunity  of  again  meetiQ| 
an  old  and  beloved  conipanica,." — Protestant  Churchman. 


HOBART'S    FESTIVALS    AND    FASTS. 

A  Companion  to  the  Festivals  and  Fasts  of  the  Protescant  Epist;opal  Church 

in  the  United  States  of  America.     Principally  selected  and  altered 

from  Nelson's  Companion  for  the  Festivals  and  Fasts  of 

the  Church  of  Eusland. 

WITH  FORMS  OF  DEVOTION. 
BY   JOHN    HENRV    HOBAR-T,    D.    D., 

BISHOP  OF  THE  DIOCESB  CF    NEW-YOHK. 

One  voiujiie.     12?no.     75c, 

*  It  will  prove  a  useful  corapanioQ  in  tV.a  exaiied  exercises  of  the  Christian  life 
aad,  while  it  serves  to  impress  on  the  mera»^ers  of  the  Episcopal  Communion  the  excel 
l«Bce  of  their  truly  Apostolic  and  Primitive  Church,  it  must  excite  them  to  adoro  theii 
|»r%l\MSioB  b/  f-orresooudiug  fervor  of  oioty  and  sanctity  of  manaera." 


Valuable  Works,  puh/ished  hy  Stayiford  if  S'cords 

STEPS  TO  THE  ALTAR; 
A  MANUAL  OF  DEVOTIONS  AND  MEDITATIONS 

FOR     THE 

BLESSED    EUCHARIST. 

COMPILED     BY" 

A  PARISH   PRIEST. 

One    Volume.       ISmo,       31c. 

"This  is  another  manual  repii!))ished  from  an  Enirlish  work  under  the  direction  of  a 
Presbyter  of  New- York,  and  llie  dovout  spirit  within  is  cioihed  in  a  most  atiractive  form. 
We  hail  it  as  a  hnppy  omen  that  the  dem;ind  for  such  l)o()k.^  sliould,  as  we  are  sure  it  will, 
justify  their  publication.  Of  this  work  we  need  only  s:iy  as  suliic.ent  commeudation,  what 
is  said  in  the  prefatory  notice.  'Tiie  works  of  Bishops  Aiidiewes,  Cosiu,  Kt-n,  and  VVil 
son,  may  be  mentioned  as  chiof  sources  from  which  matter  has  been  drawn.'  Auy  1111115 
more  we  might  have  desired  to  say  is  rendered  needless  by  the  following  from  a  corres- 
aondent. 

"  'The  work,  with  the  above  title,  is  deserving  of  patient,  attentive,  earnest  study.  It 
is  one  of  a  class  of  books  much  needed  at  the  present  time,  and  the  more  we  have  of 
them  the  better  for  the  Church  at  large.  It  is  not  our  intention  to  go  much  into  detail 
with  this  work,  but  we  shall  point  at  a  few  of  its  excellencies  and  merits.  It  contains,  for 
instance,  devotions  for  the  Sunday,  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  Friday  and 
Saturday  of  the  week  before  Communion,  devotions  also  at  the  Celebration  itself,  and 
special  devotions  fi)r  the  Monday  and  Tuesday  after  communing'.  Again,  there  is  a  prayei 
for  those  who  are  not  able  to  communicate..  Then  there  are  Prayers  for  Holy  Seasons 
and  select  passages  for  Reading  and  Meditation  from  various  authors,  with  which  the 
pages  close.  A  more  simple  arraniement  could  not  have  been  selected,  nor  one  agreeing 
better  with  the  ceremony  itself.  The  select  passages  are  peculiarly  beautiful,  and  wheu 
I  state  that  such  names  as  those  of  good  old  Bishop  Wilson,  of  the  saintly  Beveridge,  of 
the  pious  Brevint,  of  Tavlor  the  eloquent  and  the  learned,  of  Andrewes,  of  S.  Bernard,  of 
Dean  Comber,  of  Quesnel,  of  Fenelon.  Archbishop  of  Cambray,  of  our  own  excellent 
sound,  and  learned  Bishop  Pearson,  etc.,  we  shall  be  of  but  one  mind  in  regard  to  it? 
utility  and  worth.  To  my  own  mind  the  beauty  of  the  volume  lies  in  its  exceeding  sin  - 
plicit^,  its  genuine  excellency,  its  intrinsic  value.  As  a  manual,  as  a  vade  mecum  it 
must  take  a  hi?h  stand.  This  simple  expression,  from  the  author's  notice,  contains  l/ie 
germ  of  an  excellent  truth,  and  we  would  t!iat  all  ctunpilers,  for  similar  purposes,  vvtuld 
avail  themselves  of  it.  "  Tlie  works  of  Bisiiops  Andrewes,  Cosiii,  Ken,  and  Wilson,  may 
be  mentioned  as  chief  sources  from  which  matter  has  been  drawn.  Great  use  has  been 
made  of  Lake's  OSr.ium  Encharisticum,  nnd  a  little  has  been  derived  from  more  ancient 
stores  of  devotion  ;"  and  trnlv,  if  these  stores  were  more  often  consulted,  and  especially 
the  stores  of  our  own  Mother  Church,  we  should  have  a  richer  view  of  devotion,  a  greater 
treasury  of  sound  and  jrospel  truth. 

»<  •  We  were  attracted  bv  the  title  of  the  volume.  And  it  is  truly  what  it  purports  to  be 
May  those  steps  euide  many  till  they  kneel  around  the  sacred  board,  and  may  they  bo 
often  fed!  May  they  ?row  more  spiritual,  and  like  unto  their  Divine  Lord  ;  and  may  this 
huiable  instrument,  "in'the  hands  of  the  Almighty  God,  lead  luai  y  unto  righteousuess,  and 
into  the  way  of  saving  duty.'  " — Banner  of  the  Cross. 

"This  little  book,  the  uses  and  objects  of  which  are  sufficiently  indicated  in  the  titl^ 
is  printed  in  excellent  style,  and  in  a  form  wkicli  makes  it  espcciaJly  couveuient.— i^S?^ 
American  ani  Gazette. 


Valuable  WorltS^  puhlished  hy  Skjnford  S^  Swords, 


THE   HOLY  COMMUNION. 

THE  DEVOUT  CHURCHMAN'S  COMPANION, 

OR, 

A  FAITHFUL  GUIDE  IN  PRAYER,  MEDITATION, 

AST) 

^\)Z  deception  of  tlje  ^olg  €ticliarist. 

(being  bishop  Wilson's  "  sacra  frivata,"  and  "  introduction  to 

THE   lord's  supper.) 
EDITED  BY  THE 

REV.  WM.  H.  ODENHEIMER,  A.  M. 

RECTOR    OF    ST.  PETER'S   CHURCH,   PHILADELPHIA;   AUTHOR    OF    "  VOUNO   CHUBCttUAlf 
CATECHISED,"  "  TRUE  CATHOLIC   NO  ROMANIST,"  ETC. 

One  volume.     Roijal  32;wo.     Fine  Paper.     50c. 

"  We  know  not  in  the  English  language,  or  any  other,  or  any  one  book,  (always  ex 
ceptin?  the  Holy  Bible  and  the  Prayer  Book,)  which,  to  the  truly  devotrt  heart,  is  so  rich 
in  meditation!,  and  prayers.  To  all  our  readers,  who  are  living  earnestly  for  the  life  to 
come,  we  commend  this  volume.  The  new  and  most  cf^nvenient  arrangement  of  tha 
'  Sacra  Privata  '  and  the  '  Introduction,'  l)y  the  American  editor,  is  a  manifest  improve- 
ment; and  as  to  their  part  of  the  execution,  we  have  seen  nothing  from  the  publishers 
which  has  pleased  us  so  well." — Church  Review. 

"  We  are  alwaj's  slad  to  receive  a  work  with  Mr.  Odenheimer's  name  on  the  title-page, 
whether  as  author  or  editor  ;  for  we  are  sure  of  finding  something  that  has  in  view  an 
immediate  practical  end,  and  is  well  fitted  for  its  attainment.  Few  parochial  clergymen 
have  labored  s-o  much  and  so  successfully,  in  this  way.  His  "  Young  Churchman  Cate- 
chisfMl."  and  "  The  True  Catholic  no  Romanist,"  are  books  sinsrularly  well  adapted  to 
ground  the  yoimg  in  the  rudiments  of  Christian  doctrine  ;  and  in  tiiis  edition  of  the  devo- 
tional works  of  Bishop  Wilson,  we  see  the  same  practical  talent  applied  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  habits  of  the  inward  Christian  life.  As  a  manual  of  devotion  for  the  use  of  privatu 
Christians,  we  would  recommend  this  edition  of  Bishop  Wilson,  in  preference  to  any  other. 
It  contains  the  Sacra  Privata,  the  Communion  Service,  and  the  Family  and  Private 
Prayers." — Churchman. 

"The  reverend  brother  who  has  edited  this  excellent  manual,  is  already  well  known 
to  the  Church  by  his  concise  but  valuable  treatises  on  the  Origin  and  Compilation  of  the 
Prayer  Book,  The  True  ("atholic  no  Romanist,  &c.  These  have  shown  how  clearly  he 
nnderstand.x  and  decidedly  maintains  the  ground  which  our  brand)  of  the  Church  catholic 
holds:  the  present  volume  will  serve  to  endear  him  to  the  lovers  of  prayer,  and  that  mosl 
admirable  exemplification  of  it,  the  saintly  Bishop  Wilson,  of  Sodor  and  Man.  The  Sacrji 
Privata,  the  Introduction  to  the  Lfxd's  Supper,  the  Communion  Service,  and  a  collection 
of  Prayers,  form  the  materials  of  this  volume.  We  hesitate  not  to  say,  that  if  studied  as 
it  should  be,  and  used  as  it  ou:,Mit  to  be,  it  would  do  more  than  any  other  one  thing  to  ro 
move  dissension,  promote  concord  and  agreement,  and  unite  in  one  mind  and  spirit  the 
menjbers  of  Christ's  Church,  who  too  often  stand  apart  one  from  the  other,  and  thus  give 
occasion  to  the  enemy  to  l)lasphpme.  '  He  who  has  learned  to  pray  as  he  ought,  has  found 
out  the  secjct  of  a  holy  lif'>.'" — Youvg  Churchman's  Miscellany. 

"  We  can  safely  recommend  a  work  so  well  and  so  favorably  known." — Southern 
Churchman. 

"  The  merits  of  this  work  have  been  tested  by  its  passing  to  another  edition  ;  we  can 
only  hope  that  the  number  of  those  for  whom  it  is  designed  may  be  greatly  increased 
through  Its  more  extended  ci|  '.ulation." — Church  Times. 


Valuable  Works  published  by  Stanford  6f  Swords. 
CONFIRMATION. 


!i|ji|!i;liAJi_ 


;'A  MANUAL  OF  DEVOTIONS  FOR  CONFIRMATION 


J  i  r  3  t    (!l  0  m  m  It  n  X  0  n  . 

BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  "  STEPS  TO  THE  ALTAR." 
Ofie  haitdsome  volume,     l^mo.     31c. 

"  This  volume  appears  under  the  sanction  of  an  able  and  faithful  Pastor,  who  assures 
us  thai  he  has  carefully  examined  it,  makin?  a  very  few  alterations,  and  additions;  and 
that  he  deems  it  the  very  best  work  of  the  kind  he  has  seen.  A  hasty  perusal  leads  us  to 
concur  in  this  opinion.  It  differs  from  most  books  on  Confirmation,  in  bein?  almost  ex- 
clusively practical  and  devotional  in  its  character,  containing  besides,  two  Addresses, 
Prayers,  Jleditations,  and  Quest  ons  for  self-examinution  for  the  week  preceding,  and  the 
two  days  subsequent  to,  the  reception  of  the  Holy  Rite.  *  *  *  fj^e  volume  in 
neatly  got  up  ;  and  the  Publishers  deserve  the  thanks  of  good  Churchmen  for  issuing  an- 
other manual  of  sound  catholic — ffobart — teaching^." — Churchman 

"  The  multiplication  of  books  of  devotion  we  rejrard  as  one  of  the  best  signs  of  the 
limes  in  the  Ciiurch.  There  is  evidenilj'  an  increased  demand  for  such  works  us  aid  in 
the  cultivation  of  personal  religion.  The  title  of  the  present  publication  sutficieutlj'  indi- 
cates its  design  and  use.  The  Prayers  and  Meditations  which  it  contains  are  compiled 
mostly  from  Bishop  Wilson,  which  is  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  their  (soundness  and  fervor. 
Som*e  others  are  taken  from  various  approved  writers  of  our  own  Communion.  We  take 
pleasure  in  recommendina:  it  to  our  readers,  and  esjl^ecially  as  a  valuable  preparatory 
manual  for  sucli  as  are  about  to  receive  Ceufirmatioa  and  the  Holy  CommuuioD  for  ihs 
first  time." — Calendar. 


Valuable  Works,  published  by  Stanford  4*  SiRorda 


CHURCH     LESSONS 


PROPER    LESSONS^ 

FOR    THE 

SUNDAYS  ANE  HOLIDAYS  THROUGHOUT  THE  YEAR. 
EDITED  BY  THE  REV.  DR.  WAINWRIGHT. 

Handsome  ISmo, 

"  Stanford  &  Swords  have  published  a  most  beautiAil  copy  of  the  Lcstons,  in  a 
clear,  le:,'iblo  type,  and  convenient  size,  and  elegantly  bound  and  finished.  It  is  a  book 
which  would  make  a  bpuoming  and  exquisite  present  at  the  approaching  festival  sea.«ou  ; 
while  for  tho.-;e  who  buy  for  personal  use,  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  Year  is  au 
appropriate  time  for  commencing  a  careful  and  faithful  perusal  of  those  portions  of  Scrip- 
ture, selected  by  tiie  Church  for  the  illustration  of  her  doctrines,  precepts,  and  history, 
and  for  the  spiritual  instruction  of  her  members.  Wherever  there  is  a  Prayer  Book, 
there  should  be  a  copy  of  the  Lessons."— Protestant  Churchman. 

"It  is  a  beautiful  specimen  of  typography,  printed  on  glossy  paper,  in  ink  of  the 
deepest  jet,  and  is  bound  in  every  sort  of  style  to  please  the  eye,"  and  the  divers  tastes  of 
the  purchaser.  It  is  also  pqt  up  in  cheaper  shape,  for  general  use.  The  :  ublication  of 
this  companion  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  in  a  handsome  style,  has  Jong  been  a 
desideratum,  which  could  not  be  more  adequately  supplied  than  Messrs.  S.  «fe  S  have 
done  it.  The  inconvenience  of  havmg  to  turn  to  the  calendar  to  find  the  proper  lessona 
of  the  day,  and  then  turn  to  the  Bible  to  find  them,  has  long  been  felt,  and  that  inconve 
nience  is  now  removed,  and  a  valuable  uid  been  furnished  to  the  orderly  performancfl 
of  divino  worship.  Often  the  voice  of  Uic  minister  is  too  low  to  be  distinctly  heard, 
all  over  the  church,  while  reading  the  lessons,  and  it  is  an  advantage,  under  such  a  cir- 
.jumslance,  to  have  them  before  the  hearer,  to  aM  him  in  the  due  understanding  of  that 
.^art  of  divine  service,  as  it  proceeds  :  and  under  all  circumstances  it  is  a  convenience, 
VVe  trust  that  the  use  of  the  beautiful  and  valuable  book  before  us  may  come  into  univer- 
sal use  throughout  the  Church  for  wkich  it  was  so  carefully  and  successfully  prepared."— 
l».  Y,  Express. 

"  When  we  say  that  this  handsomely  printed  volume  is  edited  hy  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wain- 
wright,  we  give  all  needful  assurance  that  the  work  is  carefully,  as  well  as  appropriately, 
done.  Then  as  to  the  work  itself,  as  a  companion  to  the  Prayer  Book,  at  church  or  at 
bome,  it  is  most  appropriate  and  convenient — for  in  bulk  smaller  than  that  of  the  Bible, 
Jt  furnishes  in  clear,  large  type,  the  Bilile  Lessons  for  '>ach  Sunday  and  holiday." Courier. 

"All  must  be  acquainted  with  the  usefulness  of  such  a  book  as  this,  aflfordin?,  as  it 
does,  a  convenient  nietliod  for  reading  the  portion  of  Scripture  appointed  in  the  calendar 
for  Sundays  and  Holidays.  We  need,  therefore,  but  speak  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
publishers  have  executed  this  important  work.  The  type  is  sufficiently  large  and  beau- 
tifully clear,  the  page  broad  and  inviting,  and  the  who'e  arrangement  simple  and  correct, 
The  binding  varies  in  different  editions;  in  the  one  before  us  it  is  rich  and  elegant.  It 
can  be  had  in  a  plainer  and  cheaper  style  by  those  who  prefer  such.  We  wers  struck 
on  takinjf  up  the  volume  with  the  amount  of  Scripture  which  the  Chur,;h  reads  in  the 
yearly  coui>e  of  her  services.  May  this  volume  aid  in  making  her  members  more  cou- 
«tant.  more  faithful,  and  more  devout  students  of  the  Holy  Word." — Calendar. 

"  Few  books  are  issued  from  the  American  press  in  a  better  st/le  than  this.  This 
«olu!iie  of  Proper  Lessous  is  printed  with  large,  clear  type,  ou  fin?  paper;  and,  what  ia 
of  some  importance,  it  is  substantially  and  beautifully  bound.  It  is  very  desiratle  that 
|he  members  of  our  con'/resratitxus  should  have  the  Lessons  at  hand  during  divine  service, 
in  order  to  look  them  over,  as  I  hoy  are  read  by  the  officiating  minister.  We  aro  there- 
fore glad  to  see  a  new  edition  of  the  Lessons,  as  it  will,  we  trust,  serve  to  promote  this 
very  desirable  practice." — Christian  Witness. 


Valuable  Works,  puhlished  hij  Stanford  Sf  Swords. 

WAINWRIGHT^S   PRAYERS. 
An  Order  of  Family  Prayer  for  every  Day  in  the  Week. 

B  Y    THE 

REV.  J.  M.  WAINWRIGHT,  D.  D. 

ASSISTANT    MINISTER    OF    TRINITY    CHURCH,     NEW-VORK. 

One  beautiful  volume.     VHmo.     15c. 

'■'From  the  oi)portunity  we  have  had  to  exainine  and  use  this  additio;i  to  our  list  of  aids 
to  ievotioii,  we  are  led  to  regard  it  as  a  very  useful  contribution." — G,<sptl  Messenger. 

"It  gives  not  only  an  appropriate  form  of  prayer  for  every  day  in  the  week,  and  for 
the  various  special  occasions  that  present  themselves,  in  the  pro /ress  of  family  life,  bat 
also  well  chosen  selections  from  the  Scriptures,  for  reading  ;  and  is,  in  fact,  an  adaptation 
of  the  Episcopal  liturgy  to  family  wants  and  aptitudes.  The  supplications,  partly  original, 
but  mainly  compiled  from  old  devotional  writers,  breathe  throughout  a  fine  spirit  of 
humility  and  earnestness;  and  the  language  is  at  once  chaste,  eloquent,  and  reverential." 
— N.  Y.  Com.  Advertiser. 

"The  volume  is  a  most  acceptable  one,  both  as  a  manual  for  family  worship,  and  a  book 
of  specimens  of  the  devotional  literature  of  the  Episcopal  Church." — Fhiladelphia  Enq. 


FAMILY  AND    PRIVATE   PRAYERS. 

B  Y    T  HK 

REV.  WM.  BERRIAN,  D.  D. 

RECTOR     OF     TRINITY     CHURCH,     NEW -YORK. 

fourth  edition.     One  liandsnmc  \2mo.  volume.     Large  type. 

"  The  present  edition  of  this  manual  has  been  newly  arranged  and  materially  enlarged. 
Most  of  the  additions  which  have  been  made  to  it  con.«i^t  of  Ancient  Litanies,  purifieJ  fiom 
all  taint  of  superstition  and  error,  and  presenting  a  perfect  embodiment  of  Christian  truth 
expressed  iu  the  most  fervent  strain  of  devotion.  The  other  parts  have  been  drawn  from 
the  writings  of  the  earlier  divines  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  other  rare  and  curious 
sources.  The  quaintness,  the  redundance,  and  rnapsody  with  which  they  were  for  the 
most  part  disfigured,  have  been  carefully  rejected  ;  and  the  richness,  the  fullness,  the  depth 
of  feeling  and  glow  of  expression  most  scrupulously  retained.  The  apprehension  is  felt, 
however,  that  it  will  still  be  too  earuest  and  fervid  for  the  lukewarmuess  and  apatlsy  oj 
the  present  age." 

"In  this  large  and  well-executed  volume,  Dr.  Berrian  has /ui  njshed  all  who  Jove  the 
Liturgy  and  the  spirit  of  the  Prayer  Book,  with  a  most  valuable  manual  ;  valualde  alike 
for  its  fre{,dom  from  all  irreverent  and  unseemly  familiarity  of  approach  to  the  throne  of 
grace,  and  for  its  deep  and  glowing  fervor  of  devotion  to  God.  We  regard  it  as  no  small 
matter  to  compose  or  even  well  arrange  a  book  of  family  and  private  prayers  ;  and  it  is 
manifest  that  few  succeed,  from  the  fact  that  there  seems  to  be  continual  demand  for  new 
ones,  which  shall  supply  what  is  lacking  in  those  already  before  the  public.  Dr.  Berrian's 
manual  will  rank  among  the  first,  if  not  the  first  and  from  .its  copiousness  will,  we  are 
persuaded,  furnish  all  classes  of  minds  with  food  suitable  for  their  soul's  health  ai»d  com 
fort..'    -Young  Churchman's  Miscellany. 


JJtvotional  Works  published  hy  Stanford  ^  SworAi 

WILBERFORCE^S    PRAYERS. 

FAMILY  PRAYERS, 

BY  THE  LATE 

WILLIAM   WILBERFORCE,  ESQ. 


EDITKD  BY   HIS  SON, 

ROBERT  ISAAC  WILBERFORCE,  M.  A 

TO  WHICH  ARE  ADDED, 

PRAYERS  BY  THE  REV.  JOHN  SWETE,  D.  D. 
One  volume  IS/wo,  cloth.     25c. 

"  Th.-t  the  habit  of  family  fle^  s^y^n  is  not  inconsistent  wi^^h  the  most  zealouf  nnd  u»ra 
aitteii  u  S'lharjre  of  public  duty  is  evinc.:^  by  the  example  whit.n  the  author  of  these  Pr«f 
era  afforu^.d.  His  singular  union,  iuneed,  ot^fivat^  icli<fion  and  public  usefulness,  xua,y  ia 
freat  meu.vrs  be  attributed  to  that  statv  of  mii.J  of  wiiich  this  custom  was  at  once  a  cumM 
and  a  consv<juencc.  'I'hc  Grecian  colonists,  wnose  more  polished  manners,  and  the  8iin» 
nlicity  of  w  wse  native  speech,  were  endansrercd  through  tlie  contaminations  of  barbarian 
intercourse,  "-y  assembling:  at  stated  season*,  to  confess  thoir  degeneracy,  and  revive  the 
thought  of  p.<rer  times,  retained  as  well  the  language  which  was  their  common  bond,  as  the 
euperiority  wfiicii  was  the  birtii-right  of  their  race.  Amidst  the  incicasing  turmoil  of  our 
days,  the  custom  of  daily  worship  may  be  looked  to  by  Christians  for  a  similar  rf-suiu  It 
has  been  shown,  indeed,  that  this  practice  comes  commended  by  the  experience  of  former 
times.  But  if  it  were  needed  in  a  period  of  quiet  and  repose,  how  much  more  amidst  the 
agitation  by  which  our  cities  are  now  convulsed,  and  wliicls  sliaUes  even  the  villages  of 
our  land  I  In  tranquil  days,  tiie  disciples  were  comforted  by  tiie  presence  of  Clirist ;  but 
it  was  amidst  the  waves  of  Gennesarct  that  they  learned  to  appreciate  that  power  which 
could  hush  the  storm.y  elemer.t*  into  rust.  It  was  when  neither  sun  nor  stars  for  mauy 
days  appeared,  and  no  small  tempest  lay  upon  him,  that  the  captive  apostle  coild  be 
of  good  cheer,  because  there  was  with  him  the  angel  of  tiiat  God,  whose  he  was  and  whoa 
he  eerved." 


THORNTONS^S    PRAYERS. 

FAMILY  MAYERS, 

PRAYERS  ON  THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS. 

TO  IX'HTCH  IS  ADDED, 

A  FAMILY  C03IMF.\TARY    UPCN  THE  SKRMON  ON  THE  MOUWT 

BY  THE    LATE 

HENRY  THORNTON,  ESQ.,  M.  P. 

EDITED  BY    THE 

RIGHT  REV.  MANTON  EASTBURN,  D.  D., 

I'isho})  of  Massachusetts. 

One  handsom  e  volume.     l2mo .      75c. 

"  The  present  volume  contains  l.vo  works,  which  have  been  separately  published  Hi  Kuf- 
and;  the  Family  Commentary  on  the  Sermon  on  the  IVIount  having  app'>ared  th«(»?,  uLou* 
a  year  after  the  first  edition  of  the  Family  Prayers.  The  arrangement  now  adopted  wil 
it  is  tiioii-riit,  be  fov:::-  t^rr't^'iit  for  domestic  worship;  as  combining  within  the  saiu^ 
*olume  a  Munnii  j:"  pfdver,  and  portions  of  scriptural  exposition  for  reading, 

"  It  maj-  so.ni  presumptuous  in  the  Editor  to  say  any  thing  by  way  of  introduction  te 

Eroductions  bearing  on  their  title-page  the  name  of  Thornton  : — a  name,  familiar  r.ot  to 
Inglaud  only,  but  to  the  world  ;  and  indissolubly  associated  with  our  thoughts  of  whatevet 
is  enlarged  in  Christian  bmcficence,  sound  in  religious  views,  and  beautiful  in  consistency 
of  daily  practice.  He  will  take  the  liberty,  however,  of  simply  saying,  that  in  regard  tc 
the  Family  Prayers,  that,  without  at  all  d-f;tracting  from  the  merit  of  other  works  of  tho 
same  descrijition,  they  appear  to  him  to  pieserve,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  the  difficult  and 
happy  medium  bet  veen  verboseness  on  rhe  one  hand,  and  a  cold  conciseness  on  the  other. 
It  is  believed  that  none  can  use  them,  without  feelinrr  that  they  impart  a  spirit  of  grati. 
tude  and  self-humiliation.  They  are  what  prayiirs  should  be, — rervent,  and  yet  ])erfeclly 
■imple. 

"  The  Commentary  upon  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  is  remarkable  throughout  for 
the  profound  insight  into  human  nature  whicli  it  manifests:  for  its  clear  exhibition  of  tk0 
Aindamental  truths  of  the  gospel :  and  for  the  faithfulness,  honesty,  and  at  the  same  tuaa, 
die  true  refiaeiuent  and  dignity  of  tb«>  !»-<fuage  in  which  its  instructions  f%re  conrejreA" 


Devotional  Warksy  puhlished  by  Stanford  ^  Sworas, 
TREATISE  ON  THE  LORD^S  SUPPER,    . 

•  DK.S[(;\Kr)   A5   A  GUmK  AND 

COMPANION  TO  THE  HOLY  COMMUNION. 

BY  THE  REV.  EDWARD  BICKERSTETH, 

Edited,  and  adapted  to  the  Services  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Chur<k 

in  the    United  States, 

BY  THE  REV.  LEWIS  P.  W.  BALCH, 

Rector  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Church,  N.  Y. 

One  handsome  volume.  12mo.  75c. 
CONTENTS.— Part  I.— Chap.  1.  The  Appointment  of  the  Lord's  vSupp-  * 
— 2.  The  Atonement  made  by  tne  Death  of  Christ — 3.  Our  Faith  in  Chn^ifa 
Atonement — 4.  On  the  New  Covenant — 5.  The  Design  of  the  Lord's  Si'pper 
— 6.  The  Obhgation  to  Receive  the  Lord's  Supper — 7.  Answers  to  t'/e  Ex- 
cuses commonly  made  for  not  Coming  to  the  Lord's  Supper — 8.  Or  Receiv 
ing  Unworthily — 9.  On  the  Benefits  connected  with  a  Due  Recer-ion  of  tho 
Lord's  Supper — 10.  The  Happiness  which  would  follow  its  ''General  and 
Devout  Observance — 11.  On  Communion  whh  Christ  and  Kis  People  ou 
Earth — 12.  On  the  Heavenly  Communion  to  be  Hereafter  enjoyed  with 
our  Lord  Part  II.-  -Chap.  1.  On  Prei)aration  for  the  Lord's  Supper — 2. 
Helps  for  Self-Examination,  and  Prayers — 3.  Medit'-.dons  Preparatory  to 
the  Lord's  Supper. — 4.  Hints  for  the  Regulation  ?.id  Employment  of  the 
Mind  during  the  Communion  Service — 5.  On  the  "Ooramunion  Service  of  the 
Church — 6.  On  the  Remembrance  of  Christ  at  t\e  Lord's  Table — 7.  Medi- 
tations during  the  Communion — 8.  Texts  '.elected  for  Meditation,  and 
arranged  under  different  Heads — .9.  Meditat' jns  and  Prayers  after  Receiving 
— 10.  Psalms  and  Hymns  suited  to  the  Lord's  Supper — 11.  The  Due  Im- 
provement of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

"  It  is  indeed  a  cause  of  devout  thankfulness,  that  books  like  '  Bickersteth's  Treatise 
on  the  Lord's  Supper '  are  in  sucii  deinan«'.  And  a  fervent  Pra3'er  is  offered  to  God,  that 
every  effort  to  enlir^hten  the  hearts  of  men  ou  the  subject  of  tiie  Holy  Coniiiuuiiou,  may 
receive  His  gracious  blessing,  until  the  time  come  when  all  '  siiall  be  <lnvoutly  aud  reli- 
giously disposed  to  receive  the  most  comfortable  sacrament  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
Christ,  in  remembrance  of  His  meritorious  Death  and  Passion,  whereby  alone  we  obtaiu 
remission  of  our  sius,  ^d  are  made  partakers  of  the  kiugdom  ol  heaven.' " 


NEW    MANUAL  OF    DEVOTIONS, 

IN  THREE  PARTS. 
Containing  Prayers  for  Families  and  Private  Persons:  Offices  of  Humiliation 
— for  the  Sick — for  Women — for  the  Holy  Comnuuiio* — with  Oc- 
casional Prayers. 

CORRECTED  AND  ENLARGED  BY    THE  RIGHT  REV 

LEVI    SILLIMAN    IVES,    D.D., 

Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  North-Carolina. 

TO  WHICH    IS  ADDED, 

A  FRIENDLY  VISIT  TO  TWz   HOUSE  OF    MOURNING. 

BY  THE  REV.  RICHARD  CECIL,  M.  A. 

One  large   12  mo.  volume.     Si. 00. 

"  The  volume  here  presented  to  the  public,  contains  forms  suited  ta  «Ii 

conditions  in  which  human  beings  may  be  placed,  and  almost  all  conceivabl* 

variations  of  their  circumstances,  in  a  style  well  adapted  to  the  simplicity  ol 

•mcere  and  genuine  pioty," 


Valuable  ^Vor'ks,  puhlisTied  by  i:itanford  Sf  Stiords. 


PAY   THY   VOWS. 
A  Pastoral  Address  Subse^iueiit  to  Coaiinnation. 

BY    THE    LATE 

G     T     BEDELL,    D.  D. 

BECTOK    OF    ST.   ANDREW'S    CHURCH,    PHILADELPHIA. 

Edited,  wt  h   additions,   by  his  son,    G.    Thurston  Bedell,  Rector  of  tht 
Church  of  the  Ascension,  N.  Y. 

A  heautifal  miniature  edition.     327no.     31c. 

*•  Dr.  Pedell's  name  is  too  well  known  to  require  any  commendation  at  our  hands ;  even 
those  who  (lisa,'reed  witfi  him  in  some  theological  views,  never  doubted  his  deep  and 
hearty  striving  to  win  so.U  to  Christ,  nor  ever  were  unimpressn^d  witli  the  fact  of  his  being 
IB  eiirues"  in  what  he  said  and  did.  Tiie  value  of  the  add  re  s  is  much  enhanced  by  tiia 
ad<lit.ons  made  by  the  present  Rector  of  the  Cliurch  of  tlie  Ascension." — Young  Churck 
man's  Miscellany. 

"It  ea.  nustly  advocates  the  sound  doctrine,  that  confirmation  is  a  ratification  of  the 
baptismal  vows  ni  ide  by  the  sponsors,  and  is,  therefore,  necessarily  a  foruial  adoption  of 
the  Christian  profession.  Tiie  many  admirers  of  Dr.  Bedell,  when  living^,  will  find  in  thia 
book  all  tnat  pastoral  simplicity  and  warm  earnestness  of  manner  for  which  he  was  po 
celebrateil." — Evening  Gazette. 


THE     RENUNCIATION. 

AX   ESSAY  ON  WORLDLY  AMUSEMENTS. 

BY    THE    LATE 

REV.  G.  T.  BEDELL,  D.D. 

HECTOR    OF    ST.    ANDREW'S    CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA. 

With  an  Introductory  Notice  by  his  Son. 

"  Thife  republication  is  calculated  to  do  great  jrood.  The  faithful  expositions  of  Christian 
luty  whicn  it  contains,  are  recoaiineudcd  by  tlie  I'ervent,  tender,  and  persuasive  eloquencs 
tu  which  they  are  conveyed.  Tiie  introductory  notice  by  the  son  of  the  author,  contains 
some  vaiu  ihlc  and  impressive  views  on  the  subjects  of  ths  Essay,  with  quotations  from 
some  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  Ea,Mand  and  our  own  Church.  We  trust  the  volume 
will  be  extensively  circulated  and  read." — Prutestant  Churchman. 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  TEACHER'S  GOMPAMON. 

CONTAINING 

EXTRACTS  FROM  VARIOUS  AUTHORS, 

ARBANCED  UNDEa  APPROPRIATE  HEADS,  AFFORDING  USEFUL  HINTS   TO  THOSE  WHO 
ARE    KMPLOVED    IN    THE 

RELIGIOUS  INSTRCCTiON  OF  THE  YOUNG. 
One  volume.     2i}?io.     38c. 

«•  It  is  tne  compilation  of  an  experienced  Sunday  School  teacher ;  the  extracts  bcinf 
taken  from  the  best  writers  on  the  subject  of  Sunday  School  instruction,  and  arranged  un- 
der appropriat?  heads  with  much  judenent.  Although  particularly  intended  for  the  Pro- 
testant EpiscOj)al  Church,  it  may  be  used  with  advantage  by  oti  ?r  denoraiuaticas,* — 
Smthern  Ohunhman.        * 


Devotional  Worlts,  'published,  hij  Stanford  ^  Swords. 
JENKS^     DEVOTIONS, 

ALTF.RED  AND  IMPROVED 

^Y  THE  REV.  CHARLES  SIMEON,  M.  A., 

FKLLOW  OK  king's  COLLEGE,  CAMBRIDGE. 

From  the  33d  London,  edition.  One  volume.  \?,mo.  50c. 
**  It»  distinguishing  excellency  is,  that  far  the  greater  part  of  the  Prayers  appear  to  hurt 
BBen  prayed  auil  not  wriV.tn.  There  is  a  spirit  of  humiliation  in  them,  which  is  admira- 
bly suited  to  express  the  sentinienis  and  fcolinifs  of  a  contrite  heart.  There  is  alst.  • 
fervor  of  devotion  in  the^n,  which  can  scarcely  fail  of  kindling  a  corresponding  flame  ia 
tbe  breasts  of  those  who  use  them.  But  it  is  needless  to  pronounce  an  eulogy  on  a  book 
t^  value  of  which  has  beau  already  tested  by  the  sale  of  mantj  myriada." 


NELSON    ON    DEVOTION. 

THE  PRACTICE  OF  TRUE  DEVOTION, 

W  RELATION  TO  THE  END,  AS  WELL  AS  THE  MEANS  OF  RELIGION 
WITH  AN   OFFICE   FOR    THE   HOLY   COMMUNION: 

BY  ROBERT  NELSON,  ESQ. 
One  volume.     ISmo.     50c. 


HOBART^S    CHRISTIANAS    MANUAL. 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S   MANUAL 
OF    FAITH    AND    DEVOTION, 

Cow'aining  Dialogues  and  rrayers  suited  to  the  Various  Exerercises  of  the 
Chi'istiaii    Lite,  and  an  Exhortation  to    F]ja<  ulatory  Prayer,  with 
F.oi'ms  of  Ejacuhitoiy  and  Other  Prayers. 

BY  JOHN  HENRY  HOBART,  D.  D., 

EISHOP  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF  NEW-YOKK. 

One  thick   X'^tino  ,  v  oluine  .     63c. 
*'  Its  object   is  to  exhibit   and  enforce  the  various  exercises,  duties,  out] 
privileges  of  the  Christian  life,  to  awaken  the  careless;  to  excite  the  lake- 
wanu;  and  to  insti-uct  and  comfort  the  penitent  behever." 


THE    COMMUNICANT^S    MANUAL. 

CONTAINING   THK   ORDKR  FOR  THE    ADMINISTRATION  OF 

THE  HOLY  COMxMUNION. 

BY  THE  LATE  BISHOP  HOBART,  OF  NEW-YORK. 

TO   WHICH    ARE   ADDED 

PRAYERS  AND  MEDITATIONS, 
BY  BISHOPS  TAYLOR,   BEVERIDGE,  AND  OTHERS. 

A  beautiful  7niniature  edition.     31c. 


PASSION   WEEK: 

THREE  SERMONS  OF  LANCELOT  ANDREWES, 

BISHOP  OF  WINCHESTER, 

ON    THE    PASSION   OF   OUR   LORD. 

TO  WHICH  ARE  ADDED 

EXTRACTS    FROM    HIS    DEVOTIONS. 

One  volume.      iSmo.     38c. 

•*  The  author  was  a  man  of  prayer,  'lull  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost;'  his  thoughu 
•kwre  often  of  the  thiiigrs  of  God,  and  hia  life  was  of  as  higii  an  order  as  bis  thoughts.  U 
Hi  style  i»  somewhat  old,  yet  it  i:d  full  of  life  and  poiut,  and  the  matter  rich ;  and  to  him 
ihM  feels  Aright,  bis  thcoe  is  ever  uew,  aud  though  common  always  stirring-" 


Valuable  Works,  published  by  Stanford  ^  Swords. 
HOBART^S    STATE    OF   THE   DEPARTED 

THE  STATE  OF  THE  DEPARTED. 

BY  JOHN  HENRY  HOBART,  D.  D. 

EISHOP  OE  THE   PROT.    EPIS.    CHURCH  IN  THE  DIOCESE  OF  WEVV-YORK. 

Fourth  Edition.     One  Volume.     12rao.     50c. 

"  This  little  volume,  pp.  129,  contains  an  address  delivered  by  Bishop  Hobarf  at  the 
\ineral  of  Bishop  Moore,  of  New-Voik,  in  1816  :  also,  a  'Dissertation  on  the  State  of  De 
parted  S]»irits,  and  the  Descent  of  Christ  into  Hell ;'  written  by  Bishop  Hobart,  in  conse 
qiience  of  exceptions  havinsr  been  taken  to  his  funeral  address.  The  dissertation  is 
piil)lished  as  last  revisnd  by  the  Rij^ht  Reverend  autlior.  Those  who  wish  to  inform 
themselves  upon  this  subject,  will  find  in  this  book  as  good  a  treatise  upon  it  as  they  will 
piobably  ever  meet  with." — Banner  of  the  Cross. 

"The  lar:^er  portion  of  this  volume  is  occupied  by  'A  Dissertation  on  the  State  of 
Departed  Spirits,  ami  the  Descent  of  Christ  into  Hell" — in  which  that  subject  is  discussed 
with  much  clearness  of  statcmrjiit,  and  fulii-iss  and  force  of  reasoning — presenting  the 
whole  argument  on  the  .••■ide  adopted  by  the  Bishop  with  an  effect  and  in  a  compass  not 
elsewhere,  we  believe,  to  be  found  in  our  lan^ua  :e. ' — Southern  Churchman. 

'•  Perha])s  the  best  dis-ertatioti  on  the  very  important  question  as  to  the  state  of  the 
departed,  is  this  one  of  the  lamented  Bishop  Hobart,  in  which  the  whole  subject  is 
ihorouyrhly  ex  trained.'' — Providence  Atlas. 

"  The  publishers  of  this  valuable  work  have  at  last  given  us  an  edition  in  a  style  some- 
thing like  what  its  merits  demand.  As  it  forms  one  of  the  volumes  prescribed  by  the 
House  of  Bishops  in  the  course  of  study  for  candidates  for  Holy  Orders,  it  is  quite  super- 
fluous for  us  to  commend  it." — Young  Churchman'' s  Miscellany. 

"  Tliis  work  of  the  lite  Bishop  Hobart,  is  published  at  a  very  seasonable  time,  when 
every  doctrine  of  the  Church  is  called  in  question.  It  was  occasioned  by  the  Bishop'it 
sermon  on  the  death  of  his  predecessor.  Bishop  Moore  of  New-York,  and  is  an  unanswer- 
able defence  of  tiie  doctrine  of  the  intermediate  state.  Extmcts  are  given  as  well  from 
the  writin^^s  of  Dissenters  as  from  those  of  the  Anglican  Church;  and  the  distinction 
between  it  and  the  Romi^h  doctrine  of  purgatory  is  clearly  pointed  out.  The  present 
edition  is  beautifully  got  up,  the  j)aper  excellent,  and  the  type  clear  and  good;  and  as 
ihe  work  itself  is  used  as  a  text  book  in  the  General  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Church, 
we  have  no  doubt  the  sale  thereof  will  be  even  more  rapid  than  it  has  been  from  its  first 
ippearance,  and  speedily  repay  the  firm  who  have  issued  it  in  so  creditable  a  style."— 
National  Press. 


WYATT^S    PARTING   SPIRIT^S   ADDRESS. 

THE  PARTING  SPIRIT'S  ADDRESS  TO  HIS  MOTHER. 

BY  REV.  WM.  EDWARD  WYATT,  D.  D., 

RECTOR  OF  ST.  PAUL'S  PARISH,  BALTIMORE. 

Fou  th  Edition,     One  Volume.     ISfno.  paper.     13c. 

"  We  regaj<?  this  as  one  of  the  most  touchin?  and  beautiful  things  which  we  have  ever 
•  »i4;  equally  sound  and  judicious,  it  is  calculated  to  diffuse  comfort  through  the  mourn- 
ing home  which  has  been  berelt  of  some  bright  flower  transplanted  from  thlF  sterile  earth 
to  tl«e  Faiadise  of  God." — Young  Churchman's  Miscellany. 

*' X  f->urth  edition  of  this  beautiful  and   tender  little  thing  has  been  issued.      Ever^ 

Earaat  who  has  lost  an  engaging  litUe   child,  will  read  this  admirable  little  tract  With 
veljr  intecMt," — Albany  Spectator  * 


Valuahle  Works,  published  hy  Stanford  8f  Swords. 


MANTES    HAPPINESS  OF  THE    BLESSED 

THE  HAPPINESS  OF  THE  BLESSED 

CONSIDERED  AS  TO 

THE  PARTICULARS  OF  THEIR  STATE  ; 

THEIR  RECOGNITION  OF  EACH  OTHER  IN  THAT  STATE 

AND  ITS  DIFFERENCE  OF  DEGREES. 

TO  WHICH  ARE  ADDED 

MUSINGS  ON  THE  CHURCH 

AND  HER  SERVICES. 

BY    RICHARD    M  A  N  T  ,    D.D., 

I-ORD  BISHOP  OF  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

O/ie  volume.     12mo.     75c. 

«« We  would  have  this  volume  find  its  way  into  every  Christian  family  where  there  is 
one  person  that  can  read.  If  scriptural  truth  and  warm  devotion  can  commend  a  book, 
this  will  not  be  neglected. 

"  Bishop  ftlant  as  a  poet  is  not  duly  appreciated.  Whether  this  arises  from  a  distaste 
for  the  Sonnet,  or  from  aiv  idea  that  he  has  merely  imitated  Wordsworth,  it  is  equally  a 
mistake.  His  sonnets  are  generally  carefully  constructed,  and  seldom  lacking  in  elevation 
of  sentiment.  They  sometimes,  it  is  true,  are  not  so  well  compacted  and  pointed  as  the 
form  requires,  but  this  is  owinjr  to  the  didactic  tone  «hirh  many  of  their  subjects  neces- 
sitate. Above  all  they  are  full  of  the  genuine  Andicau  feelin-r  which  Wordsworth  often 
does  not  display.  The  reader  of  the  «  Musinirs'  will,  we  think,  feel  that  this  series  is 
more  animated  by  a  Church  spirit  than  Wordsworth's."— CAwrc/rman. 

"  Sound  in  doctrine,  rich  in  thought,  beautiful  in  style,  and  devotional  in  its  character, 
this  work  ranks  among  the  choicest  specimens  of  English  Theological  literature.  It  has 
already  become  endeared  to  thousands  of  Christian  Churchmer,  with  whom,  like  '  Scenes 
in  our  Parish,'  and  the  '  Christian  Year,'  it  is  a  household  \o\ame."— Calendar. 

"  No  Christian  can  read  this  volume  witliout  having  his  intelligent  faith  and  hope, 
strengthened  and  confirmed.  Whatever  difference  of  opinion  may  exist  on  points  of  ec- 
clesiastical policy,  or  even  upon  doctrines,  such  books  as  this  form  a  point  of  attraction 
where  the  redeemed  of  every  Christian  creed  can  meet  in  peace  and  harmony,  and  sit 
together  at  the  threshold  of  heaven  to  talk  of  their  future  union  where  sebts  and  parties 
will  be  unknown.  There  is  that  in  Bishop  Mant's  style  which  commands  the  reader's  un- 
wearied iiiterest." — Commercial. 


MANTES    HOR/E    LITURGICyC. 

A  GUIDE  TO  UNIFORMItTiX  THE  CELELRATION 

OF  DIVINE  SERVICE. 

BY  THE  RT.  REV.  RICHARD  MANT,  D.  D., 

LORD  BISHOP  OF     DOWV   AND   CONNOR. 

WITH  ADDITIONS,  TO  ADAPT  IT  TO  THE  AMERICAN  CHURCH, 

BY  THE  REV.  W.  D.  WILSON,  M.  A. 
One  Volume.     12mo.     75c. 

«  We  earnestl-y  commend  this  volume  to  the  attention  of  tiie  clergy  ot  the  Church,  aa 
a  work  the  want  of  which  has  been  lonL'  felt,  particularly  in  this  country.  Bisliop  Manl 
has  ably  fulfilled  the  task  imposed  upon  himself,  and  the  Notes  and  Add.tions  of  the 
American  editir  are  judicious  and  commendable.  We  trust  that  those  who  are  just  en- 
tering upon  their  sacred  calling,  will  e've  heed  to  the  counsels  of  this  volume,  that  they 
may  beffin  ariirht,  and  that  the  beautiful  fabric  of  our  liturgy,  bequeathed  by  the  noblo 
army  of  ma rtyVs  and  confessors,  may  presei;t  that  beautj  of  uniformity  which  they  in- 
tended, uudisfigured  by  the  crude  notions  of  those  who  would  gild  refined  gold,  or  paint 
Ibe  Uly." 


Valuable  Worhs  published  by  Stanford  4*  Sicorda* 
BIOGRAPHICAL    NOTICES 

OF    SOME    OF 

THE  MOST  DISTINGUISHED  JEWISH  RABBIES, 


TRANSLATIONS  OF  PORTIONS   OF    THEIR   COMMENTARIES,  AND  OTHER 
WORKS,  WITH  ILLUSTRATIVE  INTRODUCTIONS,  AND  NOTES. 

BY  SAMUEL  H.  TURNER  D.  D., 

1?K0FESS0B  OF  BIBLICAL  LEARNING.  ETC.,  IN  THE  GENERAL    THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

One  Volume.     12mo.     75c. 

"The  Rabbies  who  are  the  subjects  of  this  volume,  are  Jarchi,  Judah  Hallevi,  Aben 
Ezra,  Maimonides,  David  Kimchi,  Abarbanel,  and  Saadia  the  Gaoii,  names  of  great  emi- 
nence and  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  writings  of  modern  divines.  Tlie  brief  account 
of  them  here  given,  accompanied  with  extracts  from  their  works,  will  be  found  to  be  a 
valuable  help  for  students  of  theolo-jy,  and  highly  satisfactory  to  general  readers,  as  af- 
fording important  and  instructive  information  not  easily  accessible.  The  want  of  such  a 
work  is  so  obvious  that  one  is  surprised  that  it  was  not  sooner  su})plied. 

"  We  should  welcome  tlie  volume  if  it  were  only  for  the  object  at  which  it  directs  and 
professedly  aims.  But  it  has  an  ulterior  object,  which  is  of  vastly  greater  importance, 
and  which  is  thus  intimated  in  the  author's  preface: 

"  '  A  careful  n  ading  of  Jewish  books,  and  an  uninterrupted  study  of  the  Hebrew  Bible, 
ill  connection  with  the  Greek  Testament  which  embodies  its  spiritual  development,  fol 
lowed  also  by  inlelliirent  and  earnest  proclamations,  proving  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the 
true  Messiah  predicted  by  the  Hebrew  prophets,  is  quite  a  difterent  thing  from  golden 
promises  of  natiopal  supremacy  and  aristocratic  dignity  to  be  enjoyed  in  the  laud  of 
Palestine.  Some  indolent  Jews,  whose  situation  would  probably  be  improved  by  almost 
any  change,  and  some  also  of  a  better  class,  with  warm  imaginations  and  lively  hopes 
may  be  temporarily  influenced  by  such  representations  ;  but  on  the  more  steady,  indus- 
trious, and  thoughtful  portion  of  the  Hebrew  community,  influences  of  a  very  difler-eni 
kind  must  be  brought  to  bear.  They  must  be  made  to  feel  that  Judaism,  from  its  very 
nature,  could  not  have  been  intended  for  perpetuity,  some  of  its  judiciarj',  and  most  of 
its  ceremonial  requisitions  being  only  compatible  vvitU  a  peculiar  state  of  socjety ;  that 
the  views  of  the  future  which  it  developes  have  either  already  begun  to  open  in  the  past 
advent  of  Messiah,  and  the  progress  and  extent  of  his  spiritual  kingdom,  or  else  are  not 
to  be  hereafter  expected,  and  consequently  its  prophecies  are  a  failure  ;  and,  that  Chris- 
tianity, not  indeed  as  practically  exhibited  by  a  great  body  of  its  professed  advocates,  but 
as  really  existing  in  the  system  of  our  Lord  and  Master,  and  showing  itself  in  the  heavenly 
diaracter  of  its  true  believers,  is  that  new  covenant  and  law  which  God  declared  by  his 
holy  prophets,  that  in  due  time  he  would  substitute  in  the  place  of  the  earlier  and  lets 
perfect  dispensation.  To  support  such  a  superstructure,  requires  a  foundation  not  only 
solidly  laid  in  deep  religious  character  and  zeal,  but  also  in  sound  Hebrew  learning  ;  and 
the  author  is  compelled  to  say  that  he  cannot  discern,  in  the  signs  of  the  times,  so  far  as 
they  have  come  under  his  own  observation,  any  very  clear  indications  of  its  rapid  pro- 
gress. Man's  ever  changeful  theories  are  readily  embraced  ;  but  God's  Holy  Word,  which 
stands  immutable,  and  shall  so  stand  forever,  is  locked  up.  even  to  multitudes  of  its  ex- 
pounders, in  dead  languages  which  they  cannot  understand.' 

"  We  would  earnestly  commend  this  work  as  one  which  rests  the  duty  of  the  conversion 
of  the  Jews  on  sound  principles,  and  points  out  the  great  advantages  to  be  derived  front 
the  ancient  Rabbies  in  well-conducted  efforts  of  this  nature.'' — Churchman. 

"  It  contains  a  great  deal  of  interesting  information  concerning  a  class  of  men,  of  emi- 
nence in  their  day,  and  still  regarded  with  veneration  by  the  Jews,  of  whom,  moreover 
the  great  body  of  our  people  know  but  little.     It  ought  to  be  widely  read." — Courier. 

"  It  is  beyond  all  doubt  a  highly  interesting  and  iuBtructive  work,  and  scmethiognew 
in  tbecurreit  literature  of  the  day."— Trwe  Sun 


Valualle   Works,  published  hy  Stanford  Sf  Suords. 

RICHARDSON^S    REASONS. 
The  Churchman's  Reasons  for  his  Faith  and  Practice. 

VriTH    AN    APPENDIX    ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    DEVELOPMENT. 
BY    THE 

REV.  N.  S.  RICHARDSON,  A.  M 

AUTHOR   OF   "  REASONS   WHV   1   AM   A   CHURCHMAN,"   &C.,   &C.,   &C 

Ons  voluine.     12mo.     75c. 

CONTENTS.  Chapter  I— Introduction.  IT— The  Church  a  Visible 
Society.  Ill — The  Ministry  Clirist's  rositive  Institution.  IV — The  Chris- 
tian Ministry  consisting  of  Three  Orders.  V — Same  subject  continued 
VI — Same  subject  continued.  VII — Developments  of  Modern  Systems. 
VIII— The  Unity  of  the  Church,  and  the  Sin  and  Evils  of  Schism.  IX— 
Liturgies.  X — Popular  Objections  against  the  Church  answered.  Appendix 
— Essay  on  the  Doctrine  of  Development. 

"  We  are  jflad  to  see  this  book.  It  is  one  of  the  kiud  which  the  age  requir(!s,  and  we 
are  happy  to  believe,  it  is  also  seeking.  Therf  are  e'lrr'ist  minds  and  honest  hearts,  in 
every  religious  denomination,  who  see  the  evils  grofini'  oui  of  the  divisions  in  Christen- 
dom, and  who  are  seriously  inquiring  whether  these  thujjs  ought  to  be.  The  result  of 
such  an  investigation,  undertaken  with  such  a  purpo-c  oa^  hardly  be  doubtful.  It  will 
be  a  conviction  that  'God  is  net  the  author  of  confusion  out  of  order;'  that  He  has 
instituted  but  one  Body  as  the  Church  ;  and  that  all  who  are  not  in  communion  with  this 
Body,  of  which  Christ  is  the  head,  are  in  what  the  Scnpturns  call  schism.  Having  arrived 
at  tliis  point,  the  vital  question  comes,  what  is  the  Church  ?  Where  can  be  found  t^hose 
signs  of  a  Divinely  organized  Body,  which,  originating  in  the  appointment  of  Christ*  has 
continued  to  tliis  day,  and  thus  gives  assurance  that  he  has  been  with  it  according  to  his 
promise,  is  with  it,  and  will  continue  to  be  with  it,  'even  unto  the  end  of  the  world  ?'  To 
those  who  are  seeking  for  instruction,  that  their  judgment  may  be  guided  to  a  right  deter- 
mination of  thi«  question,  we  recommend  this  limely  book.  The  subject  of  it  is,  'The 
Churo:  of  God;  its  Visibility,  Ministry,  Unity,  and  Worship.' 

'•  We  are  glad  to  see  that  the  reverend  author  has  devoted  one  chapter  to  the  '  Develop- 
ments of  3iodern  Systems.'  The  argument  derived  from  this  subject  is  calculated  more 
than  any  other,  we  think,  to  lead  men  to  discover  the  errors  and  unsoundness,  and  insuffi- 
ciency of  those  systems.  They  cannot  stand,  in  the  judgment  of  sober-minded  seekers 
ifter  truth,  with  their  divisions,  vascillatioiis  and  heresies;  before  the  Scriptural  truth. 
Apostolic  order,  regular  Succession,  and  uninterrupted  continuance  of  the  'Holy  Catholic 
Ch«rch.'  "^Banner  of  the  Crosa 


WHAT  IS  CRISTIANITY? 

BY  THOMAS  VOWLER  SHORT, 
One  volume.      12mo,     50c. 

-  Indistinctness  on  religious  subjects  is  a  great  evil,  particularly  to  the  young ;  but  tho» 
•logical  clearness  does  not  always  lead  to  Christian  edification  and  practical  holiness.  It 
has  been  the  endeavor  of  the  author  to  combine  distinct  views  on  the  leading  tenets  of 
Christianity  with  that  earnestness,  without  which  religion  is  apt  to  dwindle  into  a  mere 
form.  He  has  tried  to  place  before  his  readers  not  words  only,  but  ideas-  to  give  them 
that  which  might  guide  them  in  the  path  to  heaven— to  impress  on  them  the  fundam«Bta] 
truths  of  our  holy  faith — and  to  point  out  how  this  faith  should  show  forth  its  effects  la  tke 
occurrences  or  iife." 


ValuahU  WorJeii,  pvMished  hy  Stanford  5f  Swonh, 


MERCY    TO    BABES: 

A  PLEA  FOR  THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM  OF  INFANTS 

ADDRESSED  TO  THOSE  WHO  DENY  THE  Yh  LIDITY  OF  THAT  PRACTICE, 
UPON  THE  GROUNDS  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  BAPTISM,  AND  THE 
ETERNAL  SENSE  OF  HOLY  WRIT,  AND  OF  THK  DOMES- 
TIC, SOCIAL,  AND  RELIGIOUS  NATURE  OF  MAN. 

BY    THE 


PPK3BTTER    OF    THE    PROTESTANT    KPISCOPAL    CHURCH     IN     THK    DI0CE3K    OF 
WISCONSIN.  % 

One  Volume,     12mo.     63c. 

♦•  Adams'  '  Mercy  for  Babes'  is  a  book  of  rare  originality  and  power.  It  is  an  :ir«riiment 
of  no  ordinary  cogency,  well  conceived,  and,  in  the  main,  well  put,  for  the  right  of  infants 
to  the  seal  of  blessing  in  tiie  sacrament  of  baptism.  The  writer  eschews  controversy,  anil 
undertakes  to  lay  down  his  doctrine,  and  prove  it,  on  its  own  merits  from  the  Bible  only. 
He  does  it,  and  does  it  well.  We  know  a  case  in  which  his  end  has  been  attained.  An 
anxious  and  intelligent  '  inquirer'  was  distressed  by  some  of  the  common  specious  objec- 
tions to  infant  bapti.-'m,  which  are  .«o  successful  with  the  many  who  have  neither  ability 
nor  inclination  to  examine  thoroughly  into  their  validity.  'Mercy  for  Babes,'  was  recom- 
mended, and  the  result  was  perfect  satisfaction.  The  ground  was  cut  up  beneath  the  con- 
troversial s-tateraenls  that  had  given  trouble,  and  they  lost  all  their  value.  The  literal 
truth  of  Scripture  destroyed  them.  They  were  not  opposed — not  refuted — I  here  was  no 
room  left  for  them.  Truth,  exhibited  by  no  mealy-mouthed  assertor,  but  with  honest 
plainness  p.nd  earnestness,  took  hold  of  the  mind,  convinced  it,  preoccupied  it,  and  left  no 
room  for  adverse  sophistry  and  false  assertion. 

"But  one  need  not  be  in  perplexity  because  of  anti-paedo-baptist  assaults  on  the 
Church's  love  for  little  children,  to  profit  by  Mr.  Adams'  book.  Not  for  many  a  day  have 
we  met  with  one  that  will  better  repay  any  reader  for  his  trouble  and  time  laid  out  in 
giving  it  a  ctireful  perusol.  It  is  most  clearly  written  under  a  sense  of  want.  The  writer 
felt  that  he  had  something  to  say  which  had  not  yet  been  said  as  he  could  say  it,  and  that 
now  was  the  time  to  give  it  utterance.  He  has  done  so  in  unstudied  honest  plainness,  and 
has  shown  that  he  was  ri^ht.  Late  years  have  brought  out  several  good  works  on  branches 
of  the  pasdo-baplist  question;  this  is  the  first  that  has  touched  the  roof," — Church  Times. 

"We  have  peculiar  pleasure  in  announcing  the  work  whose  title  we  have  given  above 
in  full,  and  which  conveys  a  very  accurate  idea  of  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  track  which 
the  author  has  chosen  to  pursue.  He  leaves  untouched  many  of  the  branches  of  the  argu- 
ment for  the  baptism  of  infants  which  have  already  been  ably  and  sufficiently  discussed 
by  preceding  writers,  and  confines  himself  to  what  he  v/ell  calls  '  the  grand  question^ — 
its  moral,  religious,  domestic,  and  social  considerations;  rightly  judging  that  when  this  ii 
felt  as  it  should  be,  minor  questions  will  be  easily  agreed  upon.  He  is  evidently  in  earnest; 
he  writes  from  the  heart:  and  only  seeks  readers  who  are  equally  in  earnest,  and  who  see 
and  fi-el  the  deep  and  solemn  importance  of  the  subject.  It  is  all  the  more  valuable  as 
«a  book  writt;n  for  plain  people,  and  for  common  sense  people;'  and  that  the  author 
•comes  forward,  not  as  a  controversialist  to  attack  others,  or  to  enter  into  discussion  with 
any  champion  of  the  opposite  views.'  'This,'  he  says,  'is  not  his  object — his  purpose 
is  far  different;  he  wishes  to  lay  clearly  and  plainly  before  those  who  doubt  or  deny  infant 
baptism,  t!»e  giounds  for  his  own  belief  that  are  to  be  found  in  tne  Scripture: — to  lay  it 
before  them  as  persons  that  have  a  real  and  \ital  interest  in  it  as  professing-  Christians 
US  persons,  too,  that  have  the  Biblo  in  their  hands,  are  bound  to  search  for  the  truth 
there,' "—Ban;tcr  o/tAe  Cross 


Valuable  Works,  published  by  Stanford  c^-  Swords, 

H  A¥  K  S  T  0  N  E  : 

ATALE  OF  AND   FOR   ENGLAND   IN  184— 

FBOM  THE   THIRD   LONDON   EDITION. 

EDITED  BY  THE  REY.  DR.  WILLIAMS, 

OF  SCHENECTADY. 

2  vols.  12mo.     $1  50. 


"  We  have  not,  for  years,  found  ourselves  so  deeply  absorbed  in  the  peruse  of  any 
work  of  fiction.  A  tale  of  more  profound  and  sustained  interest  we  have  never  mut.  The 
skill  with  which  incident  after  incident  is  made  to  sustain  the  attention  ;  and  with  which 
moral  and  religious  truths  of  the  highest  moment  are  interwoven  without  effort  or  affecta 
tion  ;  the  rich  and  exhaustless  variety  of  thought,  and  ima<rery,  and  diction,  wliicli  affords 
a  continual  relief  and  enjoyment — tlie  exquisite  beauty  of  its  descriptions — the  force  and 
eraiMleur  of  its  tragic  incidents — and  the  high  philo>ophy  which  breathes  in  every  page, 
and  brings  out  such  a  noble  moral  throughout — ali  appear  to  us  to  place  this  work  on  so 
high  an  elevation,  that  we  should  not  find  it  easy  to  point  to  any  work  of  fiction  charicler- 
ized  by  so  great  a  combination  of  excellencies.  Some  of  the  scenes  appear  to  us,  not 
inferior  in  power  to  the  very  best  of  Walter  S(;ntt.  The  discovery  by  Margaret  of 
Wheeler's  wickedness  ;  the  escape  of  Villiers  and  Bentley  from  the  destruction  n)editated 
oy  Pearce;  the  attack  of  the  mob  on  the  inn,  and  its  defence  by  Villiers;  the  death  of 
Wheeler;  the  recovery  of  the  lost  child  by  Villiers,  and  his  repentance  ;  have  been,  we 
think,  very  rarely  equalled.  Of  the  principles  of  the  woik  as  an  expression  of  Church 
principles,  we  cannot  speak  too  highly.  The  comprehensiveness  and  deptn  of  its  views — 
the  noble  examples  which  it  presents;  the  sin<rular  judgment  with  which  it  discriminates 
true  Catholicism  from  Romanism  ;  and  the  advice  wliich  it  administers  to  some  persons 
who  have  verged  towards  the  Church  of  Rome ;  .ill  render  this  work  an  invaluahle 
resource  to  those  who  are  attached  to  the  Church,  on  the  highest  and  purest  principles." — 
English  Review. 

"There  are  two  words  in  our  language  the  'bans'  of  whose  marriage  we* would 
solemnly  'forbid.'  'Religious'  and  'novel'  are  not  merely  paradoxical  but  directly 
antagonistical ;  and  reliirious  novels,  and  novelties  in  religion,  are  alike  objects  to  which 
we  always  irive  a  wide  berth.  There  is  no  general  rule,  however,  without  its  evcHpnou  , 
and  as  the  Roman  Cato  could  give  character  and  respectability  to  the  lowest  office  in  the 
State,  by  assuming  its  duties,  so  even  the  religious  novel  maybe  raised  from  its  deep 
degradation  by  the  combined  energies  of  a  pov/erful  intellect,  a  refined  taste,  an  Ando- 
Saxon  common  sense,  a  chastened  yet  glowing  imagination,  a  keen  yet  polished  irony,  a 
profound  yet  transparent  philosophy,  a  quiet  yet  ardent  love  for  the  Church,  and  a  calm 
yet  devoted  piety.  All  these  have  united  to  give  character  to  '  Ha>vkstone,'  which  has 
leached  a  third  edition  in  England,  and  is  soon,  we  are  informed,  to  be  republished  in 
this  country.  It  is  an  anonymous  publication,  biit,  unless  there  be  two  minds  of  precisely 
the  same  character  and  calibre,  we  cannot  be.  mistaken  when  we  rlaini  for  it  the  patornity 
of  the  learned  and  accomplished  author  of  'Cliristian  Morals'  and  'Christian  Politics.'  " 
— Okarleston  Qospel  Messing er 


Valuable  V/orhs^  publlsJied  by  Stanford  4*  Srwrds, 


MARK  WILTON; 


>WA^, 


OR, 

THE   MERCHANT'S    CLERK. 

BY  THE 

REV.  CHARLES  B.  TAYLER, 

AUTHOK  OP  "  LADY  MABV,"  "  MARGARET,"  "  RECORDS  OF  A  GOOD  MAN'S  LIFE,"  KTa 

One  liandsGme  volume,     12rao.     75c. 


"  An  excellent  book  to  placo  in  the  hands  of  youn?  men.  Mr.  Tayler  is  a  ^ood  writer 
nnd  a  fine  preacher.  Devoted  to  the  service  of  his  Master,  he  strives  both  by  his  pen  and 
tongue  to  guard  the  unwary,  instruct  the  ijrnorant,  direct  the  doubtful,  reclaim  the  wan 
derer,  and  ;^uide  the  .«teps  of  all  into  the  ptths  of  peace.  This  volume  teaches  the  ini 
portaiice  of  resisting  sin,  by  showing  tlie  dilHculties  and  sorrows  which  a  compliance  with 
its  temptations  involve. — Episcopal  Recorder. 

"  This  volume,  in  tlie  deep  interest  which  its  perusal  excites,  is  not  inferior  to  the  all 
thor's  '  Records  of  a  Good  Man's  Life,' which,  as  every  reader  linows,  is  awarding  to  it 
very  high  praise.  The  pictures  of  individuals  and  families  are  so  life-like,  the  various 
shades  of  character  so  finely  and  accurately  drawn,  that  the  reader's  attention  is  rivetted 
from  first  to  last.  The  narrative  is  autobiographical,  and  is  written  with  such  an  air  of 
candor,  and  interspersed  with  reflections  so  natural  to  the  incidents,  that  it  is  really  difS 
cult  to  divest  one's  self  of  the  inipres-ion  that  it  is  truth  and  not  fiction.  In  one  respect 
we  think  '  Mark  Wilton  '  is  even  superior  to  the  author's  former  productions — the  four 
fold  phase  of  character  exhibited  in  the  narrative  is  preserved  with  astonishing  fidelity 
and  clearness.  These  urc  exemplified  in  the  character  of  a  family  of  high  worldly  intiig- 
nty;  of  another,  whose  whole  domestic  discipline  is  regulated  by  the  elevated  precepts 
of  Christian  principle  ;  of  a  \oung  m.an,  a  fellow  clerk  of  Wilton's,  remarkable  for  his 
decision  and  firmness  of  Christian  character;  and  of  3Iark  Wilton,  easily  seduced  from 
virtue,  lackin;:  strength  to  resist  example  and  vicious  influences,  often  wanderin?  far  from 
rectitude,  yet  again  impulsive  for  good  when  arrested  in  his  downward  path.  The  subor- 
dinate characters  serve  to  make  apparent  these  distinctions  We  would  that  the  book 
were  carefully  read  by  all  for  whom  it  is  especially  designed — the  clerks  in  a  great  city. 
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